Man involved in ‘second plot’ against Salman held from Haryana; accused was promised Rs 25 lakh

A chargesheet filed by the Navi Mumbai police had said that Rs 25 lakh was promised to the accused to carry out the hit and weapons were to be procured from Pakistan.

The plot was, however, foiled after Navi Mumbai senior inspector Nitin Thakare received a tip-off about their movement and made five arrests in the case.

According to police, the arrested accused, identified as Sukhbir Balbir Singh alias Sukha, was an arms supplier and was to get in touch with a Pakistan-based person Dogar to procure the arms.

The Navi Mumbai police had been on the lookout for Sukha and recently received information that he was hiding at a hotel in Panipat and changed his look by growing his hair and beard.

The police had found that 16-17 people were involved in the Panvel recce operation. The police in June arrested four people, allegedly linked to gangster Lawrence Bishnoi.

The accused were identified as Dhananjay Tapesingh alias Ajay Kashyap, Gaurav Bhatia alias Nahvi, Vapsi Khan alias Waseem Chikna and Rizwan Khan.

In its chargesheet filed in the case against five accused, the Navi Mumbai police said that the Bishnoi gang had issued a contract worth Rs 25 lakh to murder Khan either during a movie shoot or while the actor was leaving his Panvel farmhouse.

According to police, nearly 16-17 people were involved in the Navi Mumbai operation and they had conducted a recce at Panvel in February this year. A few of them were staying in Panvel since November last year.

As per the chargesheet, the plan was hatched over a period from August 2023 to April 2024. The gang had planned to acquire advanced weapons from Pakistan, including AK-47s, AK-92s, M16 rifles, and the Turkey-made Zigana pistol, which was used to murder Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala, as per the chargesheet.

The gang allegedly communicated through a WhatsApp group with 15-16 members, including Bishnoi’s brother Anmol Bishnoi, Goldy Brar, Kashyap, Bhatia, Cheena, and Javed Khan.

The Navi Mumbai Police also identified Sukha and Dogar from Pakistan as the suppliers of the weapons.

The plan also required tightened surveillance, with about 60 to 70 people tracking Khan’s movements, the chargesheet said.

Salman Khan has been on the radar of gangster Bishnoi who is suspected to be involved in both cases in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai.

Lawrence Bishnoi claims that he was targeting Salman Khan as the actor had shot dead blackbucks, revered by the Bishnoi community, in Rajasthan in 1998 during the shooting of a film.

Police claim Bishnoi is trying to gain popularity by threatening and attempting to attack a popular actor.