Bollywood icon Salman Khan’s Bandra residence witnessed a shocking incident on April 14 when two unidentified assailants opened fire outside his home. The Mumbai Police have been diligently investigating the case, but recent events have thrown a shadow over their progress. Anuj Thapan (32), one of the accused believed to have supplied the weapons used in the attack, was found dead by suicide while in police custody on April 26. Thapan, along with another suspect, Sonu Subhash Chander (37), was apprehended in Punjab a week after the shooting. The circumstances surrounding Thapan’s suicide are currently under investigation.
According to a report from NDTV, Thapan, who had been arrested in Punjab prior to his suicide, took his own life in a lock-up toilet despite being under police guard. Authorities are now looking into the circumstances leading to his death. Former police officer PK Jain emphasized that all deaths in police custody are treated as murder cases, necessitating a thorough investigation by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). Jain stressed the importance of routinely checking lock-ups for objects that could be used for self-harm.
The four accused—Thapan, Chander, and the two shooters, Vicky Gupta (24) and Sagar Pal (21)—are believed to have ties to incarcerated gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, as reported by PTI. Bishnoi’s gang, according to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), is allegedly involved in serious offenses including kidnapping, murder, extortion, and illegal trafficking of weapons and drugs.
The Mumbai Crime Branch has claimed to have gathered substantial evidence against Lawrence Bishnoi and his brother Anmol Bishnoi, naming them as the primary suspects in the case. Anmol Bishnoi reportedly took responsibility for the attack, citing a longstanding feud between the Bishnoi gang and Salman Khan stemming from a blackbuck poaching incident in 1998.
In response to the attack, Salman Khan’s security detail was significantly beefed up, elevating it to Y-plus category, one of the highest levels of protection in India. Additionally, Khan was granted permission to carry a firearm and purportedly acquired an armored vehicle for added safety.
The shooters, Vicky Gupta and Sagar Pal, were arrested shortly after the incident. CCTV footage captured them fleeing the scene on a motorcycle. Further investigation led the police to recover two pistols, magazines, and bullets believed to be the weapons used in the attack from the Tapi River in Gujarat. Gupta and Pal were initially remanded in police custody until April 29 to allow for further investigation into the motive behind the attack.
