Salman Khan murder plot: How police stopped Lawrence Bishnoi gang

Elaborating on their investigation, the Navi Mumbai police said today they leveraged the gang's social media interactions for gathering intelligence.

The Navi Mumbai police on Saturday arrested four members of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang who had allegedly put in motion a plan to murder Bollywood star Salman Khan. The police extensively used technology to thwart the nefarious designs of the gang.

Bollywood actor Salman Khan, guarded by security personnel, leaves a polling booth after casting his ballot to vote in Mumbai on May 20, 2024.(AFP)

Elaborating on their investigation, the Navi Mumbai police said today they had leveraged the gang's social media interactions for gathering intelligence.

The action comes months after the police made several arrests in connection with a firing outside the actor’s Mumbai home.

Vivek Pansare, the deputy commissioner of police Zone II (Panvel), told media that Panvel police station's senior inspector, Nitin Thackeray, received inputs in September-October last year that a conspiracy was afoot to harm one of the most popular people in India.

Later, the Navi Mumbai police's officers and informers infiltrated WhatsApp and other social media groups of the Bishnoi gang.

The police said the arrested gang members had surveyed Salman Khan's Panvel farmhouse, his Banda home and places he frequents for film shooting. They said the gang was trying to get weapons for their plot from abroad.

In April, the police registered a case against 17 people, including Bishnoi and his younger brother Anmol Bishnoi.

Accused Dhananjay Tapesingh, alias Ajay Kashyap (28) was arrested from Panvel on April 28. The same day, Gaurav Bhatia, alias Sandeep Bishnoi, was taken into custody from Gujarat, the official said.

While the third person Vaspi Khan, alias Waseem Chikna, was picked from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Rizwan Khan, alias Javed Khan, was arrested from Bangalore, he added.

"In April, we received information that some people are conducting recce at the Panvel farmhouse of Salman Khan. We infiltrated our informers and police officers into Lawrence Bishnoi gang's WhatsApp groups and other social media... We arrested the 4 accused from Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Sambhajinagar... They had also conducted a recce in Bandra," said Pansare.

Lawrence Bishnoi is lodged in Ahmedabad's Sabarmati prison. Anmol Bishnoi is believed to be holed up in the United States and Canada.

With inputs from ANI, PTI