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Salman Khan house firing: ‘Accused did recce actor's residence thrice; 5 rounds shot’, says Mumbai Crime Branch
Salman Khan House Firing Case: Joint police commissioner of the Mumbai Police Crime Branch said a total of five rounds were fired by Vicky Gupta and Sagar Pal.
Salman Khan House Firing Case: A court in Mumbai on Tuesday remanded two persons arrested in connection with the firing outside Bollywood superstar Salman Khan's residence to police custody till April 25.
Joint police commissioner of the Mumbai Police Crime Branch Lakhmi Gautam, at a press conference, said a total of five rounds were fired by the accused. Later on in the day, Anmol Bishnoi, gangster Lawrence Bishnoi's brother, also wrote on Facebook regarding this incident. “We have arrested two accused Vicky Gupta and Sagar Pal from Bhuj district in Gujarat. Primarily, they have done 'recce' of the house thrice.”
The duo - Vicky Gupta (24) and Sagar Pal (21) - both residents of Bihar, were on the run after the firing incident outside Salman Khan's house in Bandra area here on Sunday morning. They were apprehended late Monday night from Mata No Madh village in Gujarat's Kutch district, police said.
The two persons were brought to Mumbai and produced before a magistrate court on Tuesday.
The crime branch sought 14-day custody of the two men on the ground that their custodial interrogation was required to ascertain conspiracy details and to identify the mastermind behind the firing incident.
The court granted the police custody of the two accused for nine days (till April 25).
Around 5 am on Sunday, the two on a motorcycle had opened fire outside 58-year-old Salman Khan's residence at the Galaxy Apartments in Bandra area of Mumbai and fled the spot.
The police officer told HT that Sagar Pal and Vicky Gupta were traced using CCTV cameras and other technology. The actor and his parents were asleep at the time of the firing and nobody was injured in the incident.
Anmol Bishnoi claimed responsibility for the attack hours later, saying, “Salman Khan, do not take us lightly. This is the first and last warning. After this, the firing will happen at your home.”
Police have seized the motorbike the assailants used and were probing the motive behind the shooting.
Salman Khan house firing case: What investigation found
- The investigation into the firing at Salman Khan’s residence has revealed that the shooters had rented a room in Panvel for a month to recce the actor’s farm house as well as his Bandra home.
- A crime branch officer said they bought a second-hand bike from a Panvel resident for ₹20,000 through a person in Panvel, who was not the original owner.
- As the bike was still registered in the name of the first owner, the crime branch traced the original owner and the broker who helped the shooters rent a home and questioned them on Monday.
- After firing five or six rounds at Salman Khan’s residence, the shooters fled on the two-wheeler and abandoned the bike at Mount Mary Road.
- From there, they took an auto to Bandra station and boarded a local train and got down at Santacruz.
- They exited the station in Santacruz East and walked towards Kalina. Their movement thereafter has not been caught on CCTV cameras but crime branch officers suspect that the accused could have gone to the airport to take a flight.
- Later, a police team found their last location in Mira Road, but again there was no trace of the two in surveillance cameras.
