Mumbai: Salman Khan firing case accused suicide is third in custody in 9 months, police may review security

Thapan, who was arrested last week by the Mumbai Crime Branch from Punjab, allegedly died by suicide in the first floor bathroom of the lock up inside the Mumbai police headquarters on Wednesday morning.

Thapan was allegedly involved in procuring firearms for the two accused who fired five rounds outside Salman Khan’s residence on April 14. The reason behind the alleged suicide is still unclear. A probe agency other than the crime branch may conduct a thorough inquiry into the custodial death matter.

Earlier, on September 8, 2023, 40-year-old Vikram Atwal, a housekeeping staffer at a Marol (Powai) residential society, allegedly died by suicide in police lock-up in Andheri.

Atwal had allegedly killed air hostess Rupal Ogrey at her Marol flat in Mumbai on September 3. Atwal too died by suicide in the bathroom. Reason behind his extreme step was unclear, but police suspected it could be guilt and the bad name his family got due to his crime.

Around 43 days before this incident, another murder case accused had allegedly ended died by suicide in police lock up. On July 28, 28-year-old Deepak Jadhav, who was arrested in a murder case, allegedly died by suicide inside the Borivali general police lock-up. Jadhav, a resident of Borivali West, was lodged in the Yerwada jail after being arrested by Pune’s Bharati Vidyapeeth police station in a murder case.

The Borivali police had taken his custody in an assault case with the court’s permission and he was kept in the general police lock-up as he was sent to police custody by the court till July 28. But before he could be produced in court again, he allegedly died by suicide. The reason behind the alleged suicide is unclear.

Salman Khan firing case accused Thapan, who was arrested by the crime branch, was facing charges under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) in the high-profile shooting case.

The suicide of a member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang inside the police lock-up in the police headquarters has raised a serious concerns over the security arrangements.

“Taking lessons from the incident, the Mumbai police may soon order a review of security arrangements at all the police lock-ups in Mumbai. This would be mainly to check if a dedicated policeman is being posted on watch duty and also if the CCTV cameras at the lock-ups are functioning properly,” a police officer requesting anonymity said.