The Mumbai Police Crime Branch has arrested a fifth suspect in connection with the shooting incident outside Bollywood superstar Salman Khan’s residence. The accused, identified as Mohammad Rafiq Chaudhary, was arrested from Rajasthan on May 7.
According to the Mumbai Crime Branch officials, Chaudhary had recorded a video of Salman Khan’s house and subsequently forwarded it to gangster Anmol Bishnoi. He had also conducted reconnaissance outside the homes of two other actors and provided financial assistance to the alleged shooters.
The police are currently investigating the recce outside the houses of the two other actors. The alleged shooters, Sagar Pal and Vicky Gupta, were initially apprehensive about carrying out the firing, but Bishnoi reassured them that they would gain virtue by completing the task.
On April 14, two motorbike-borne shooters opened fire outside The Galaxy apartments, Salman Khan’s residence in Bandra, before fleeing from the spot. Following the incident, four persons – Anuj Thapan, Sonu Bishnoi, alleged shooters Sagar Pal and Vicky Gupta – were arrested.
While Pal and Gupta were arrested from Gujarat, Thapan and Bishnoi were held from Fazilka in Punjab. However, on May 1, accused Anuj Thapan allegedly died by suicide, by hanging himself with a bedsheet in the toilet of the first-floor lock-up inside the police commissioner’s office compound in south Mumbai.
Thapan’s family has moved the Bombay High Court seeking a CBI probe into his death. His mother, Rita Devi, has alleged foul play and claimed he was killed. After Thapan’s death, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Anand Dubey also raised suspicions of foul play, questioning the involvement of some politicians or high-ranking officers.
The investigation into the Salman Khan shooting case is ongoing, and the police are working to establish the motive behind the attack and identify any other individuals involved.
