The bike-borne shooters, who fired at Bollywood actor Salman Khan’s apartment in Mumbai’s Bandra on April 14, were told to fire shots in air to “scare” and intimidate him.
As per the chargesheet filed by the Mumbai police in the case, a day prior to committing the crime, Anmol Bishnoi, the younger brother of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, allegedly instructed a gunman not to wear a helmet and smoke cigarette while firing to appear fearless.
The police said that the instructions were part of a broader plan to establish the Bishnoi gang’s dominance in Mumbai for financial and other benefits.
The chargesheet also has Salman Khan’s statement in which the actor has said that he believes that Lawrence Bishnoi and his gang fired at his residence to kill him and his family members.
Instructions given to shooters who fired at Salman Khan’s house
The 1,735-page chargesheet submitted to the special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court also includes transcripts of an audio conversations on Signal app between Anmol Bishnoi and shooter Vickykumar Gupta, who was riding the bike on the day of the firing at Salman Khan’s Galaxy apartment.
Anmol had allegedly told Gupta to fire in a way that would “scare Bhai” and suggested he smoke a cigarette during the act to appear fearless on CCTV footage.
“Waha pe goliya bade soch samajh kar aur saari jagah tatatat chalani hai. Chahe apne ko aadha minit lage toh bhi dikkat nahi hai, ek minit lage ya dedh minit lage, koi dikkat nahi hai, aur aise chalani hai ki bhai dar rahe ho… us waqt cigarette peete peete hi chalana taki camera mey aaye… ki aise lage ki bekhauf chalate hai ji, matlab apne ko ye cheez dikhana hai ki inko koi nahi hai (You should fire carefully and quickly. Do not worry even if it takes half a minute or more than a minute. You should fire to scare Bhai… While firing smoke a cigarette so that CCTV cameras capture you that way… it will seem that you are fearless),” the transcript stated.
As per the chargesheet, Anmol also allegedly tried to motivate the shooters by saying, “You will create history by doing this job and your name will be there in all newspapers and other media.
Gupta was accompanied by Sagar Pal on April 14 and the duo fired multiple shots outside Salman’s Galaxy Apartments residence in Bandra.
Shooters spoke with Lawrence Bishnoi
The chargesheet also mentioned that at one point before the incident, the shooters spoke to Lawrence Bishnoi, who is lodged in Gujarat’s Sabarmati jail. Lawrence allegedly told them that they should be ready for the firing and that they will be successful.
The chargesheet has been filed against six people – including Vickykumar Gupta and Sagar Pal. They along with others Sonukumar Bishnoi, Mohd Rafiq Choudhary, Harpal Singh, and Anujkumar Thapan have been arrested. Thapan reportedly committed suicide while in police custody. The remaining five are currently in judicial custody.
The Chargesheet has Lawrence and Anmol’s names too. Anmol is believed to be in the US or Canada. It also has the name of Rawataram Swami as a wanted accused. He is believed to be in the UK.
What did Salman Khan say?
Mumbai Police have recorded the statement of Salman and his brother Arbaaz Khan in the case.
Salman told the cops that he was sleeping at home when he heard the cracker-like sound on April 14.
The actor further said that around 4:55 am, the police bodyguard informed him about two people who came on a bike and had fired from a weapon at the balcony of the first-floor of his house.
“There had been previous attempts to hurt me and my family. I have learnt from social media that Lawrence Bishnoi and gang have taken responsibility for the attack. So, I believe that it is the Lawrence Bishnoi gang who carried out the firing at my balcony,” Salman said.
Plan of firing was in works since 2023
The chargesheet even mentioned that the planning for the firing at Salman’s Bandra residence was in the works since 2023 when Anmol had reached out to Pal and Gupta about some ‘big work’, which was to be done in Mumbai.
In his confession, Gupta mentioned how he and Pal were told to also target anybody who tries to stop them.
After the firing, the duo left for Gujarat and remained in touch with Anmol through video call, before they were arrested.
With inputs from agencies
Link to article –
Fire to scare Bhai, look fearless: Gangster’s bold orders to shooters targeting Salman Khan
