Firing at Salman Khan’s home: Police pose as devotees, nab 2 from Bhuj temple

On Tuesday, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde visited the actor’s residence and met his family members who had earlier raised concerns about the firing in spite of his Y-plus category security cover.

Mumbai Police Commissioner Vivek Phansalkar told The Indian Express, “We took the case seriously and transferred it to the crime branch and immediately 10 teams were formed. We soon got good leads following which our team went to Bhuj and with the help of local police we apprehended the suspects.”

The accused are produced at the Esplanade court in Mumbai on Tuesday. (Express photo: Ganesh Shirsekar)

Joint Commissioner of Police (crime) Lakhmi Gautam said, “The two accused, Sagar Pal, who fired the rounds, and Vicky Gupta, who rode the motorcycle involved in the firing, were arrested from Bhuj in Gujarat late Monday night. The two were brought to Mumbai on Tuesday morning and produced before a court which granted their custody to the crime branch till April 25.”

An officer said that a prima facie probe has revealed that the two were directly in touch with Anmol Bishnoi, younger brother of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, who is currently lodged at Sabarmati jail in Gujarat.

Hours after the firing incident, Anmol, who faces multiple crime cases and is believed to be in hiding either in the US or Canada, had claimed responsibility in a post on Facebook.

The building where the accused lived on the fourth floor in Harigram village, Panvel. (Express photo: Narendra Vaskar)

Salman has been on the radar of the Bishnoi gang for his alleged involvement in the blackbuck shooting case in Rajasthan in 1998. The Bishnoi community considers blackbuck holy.

A source said, “Through Internet voice calls, the duo was constantly in touch with Anmol, updating him about the progress of their operation and taking instructions from him. He will soon be named as a wanted accused in the case and necessary legal processes will begin.”

DCP Datta Nalawade said the plan was hatched months ago by the Bishnoi gang and as per their modus operandi they started looking for youngsters from poor background without any prior criminal record. It was then that they came across Sagar Pal, a Bihar native who had been doing menial jobs in Haryana for two years.

Bullet marks at Salman Khan’s building. (Express photo by Sankhadeep Banerjee)

The Bishnoi gang has a strong presence in Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan.

An officer said, “While no definite amount was decided for the hit, Pal was told ‘achcha kaam karo to tumhara achcha karenge’ (do a good job and we will do something good for you). They were told to fire 10 rounds at the actor’s residence.”

Mumbai Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Lakhmi Gautam addresses a press conference in Mumbai on Tuesday. (Express photo: Ganesh Shirsekar)

Pal then contacted Vicky Gupta, who lives in Champaran, Bihar. The two took a flight to Mumbai on February 28. Later they took a house on rent in Harigram area of Panvel on a 11-month contract. They paid Rs 10,000 to the landlord as deposit and Rs 3,500 as monthly rent. All the payments were made with the money Anmol had sent to them. The two also bought a second-hand motorcycle for Rs 24,000.

Pal and Gupta then returned to Bihar for some days and were back in Mumbai on March 28.

By then, Anmol had allegedly arranged for a sophisticated firearm which was delivered to them at a public place in Mumbai. They were also given training in shooting the firearm.

Crime branch unit-9 senior inspector Daya Nayak said, “The two conducted recce of Salman’s Bandra residence thrice, including possible escape routes.”

Security personnel check for bullet casings, at Salman Khan’s residence in Mumbai. (Express photo by Sankhadeep Banerjee.)

On Sunday morning after carrying out the attack, the two abandoned the bike, took a train from Bandra and eventually a cab from Santacruz to Mira Road. From Mira Road, they took a bus to Surat followed by public transport to Bhuj.

“Anmol Bisnoi had told them to lay low. He knew in north India, the police would be on the lookout for them and in the south they would stand out. Hence, they were told to stay at the Mata No Madh temple in Bhuj for a few days,” an officer said.

The crime branch traced the two through technical intelligence. A team from the Bandra police too reached Bhuj. Around midnight on Monday, a team of three crime branch officers and five local police officers took a vehicle till nearly 500 metres of the temple. They found that a prayer meet had just been conducted at the temple and devotees were still present inside, an officer said.

An investigator measures a bullet mark after the firing. (Express photo: Sankhadeep Banerjee)

“We sent some of our officers posing as devotees inside the temple to see if they could locate the duo. Accordingly, two officers went in and found the two accused sleeping in one corner. They sent a signal to others following which the two were nabbed and brought to Mumbai,” an officer said.

During interrogation, the accused have told the police that they dumped the firearm used in the attack and their mobile phone in a river in Gujarat. Police teams have launched a search operation.