Mumbai (Maharashtra): The Mumbai Crime Branch made its sixth arrest in the case regarding the firing at superstar Salman Khan’s residence in Bandra.
The accused, identified as Harpal Singh (37), was arrested from Haryana’s Fatehabad. He will be presented in the MCOCA (Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act) court of Mumbai.
As per the police officials, Harpal Singh’s information surfaced during the interrogation of another accused Mohammed Rafique Choudhary. He had financed Choudhary to conduct a recce around Salman’s residence.
Gangster Lawrence Bishnoi’s brother, Anmol Vishnoi, played a key role in motivating the shooters. After receiving weapons delivery in Panvel on March 15, 2024, Anmol provided the shooters with the target’s information, instructing them to carry out the firing at the actor’s residence.
According to the information obtained from the Crime Branch, Chaudhary had done a recce of the actor Salman Khan’s apartment building on April 12 and had also made a video of it and sent it to Anmol. Shooters, Pal and Gupta, were apprehensive about carrying out the firing until Anmol reassured them that they would gain virtue by completing the task.
The two were sent to Mumbai in October last year by the Bishnoi gang. Despite multiple attempts, they were unable to secure accommodation. Finally, in March 2024, with the help of a local rickshaw driver in Panvel, they managed to rent a flat in the Harigram area.
The planned firing incident was executed as per instructions, during which the shooters received a total of Rs 3 lakh.
The firing incident, which took place on April 14 outside Salman Khan’s residence at Galaxy Apartments, sent shockwaves through the Bandra area of Mumbai. The subsequent arrests revealed connections to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, leading the Mumbai Police to invoke the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against all involved in the shooting.
A few days after the firing incident, Salman’s brother Arbaaz Khan released a statement on the family’s behalf. The actor said that the happening was ‘disturbing and unnerving.’
“He wrote, “The recent incident of firing by two unidentified person on a motorcycle at Galaxy apartment the residence of the Salim Khan family is very disturbing and unnerving. Our family has been taken aback by this shocking incident that took place. Unfortunately some people claiming to be close to our family and pretending to be the spokesperson have been making loose statements to the media saying it’s all a publicity stunt and the family remains unaffected which is not true and these views should not be taken seriously.”
“No member of the Salim Khan family has made any statement regarding this incident to the media. At this time the family is helping and cooperating with the police in the investigation of this untoward incident. We have faith in the Mumbai police and we have been assured they will do everything in their capacity to protect and secure our family. Thank you everyone for your love and support,” Arbaaz further said.