Suspects who fired shots at Salman’s apt came from Bihar a month ago

The shooters in a CCTV grab

In the investigation into the firing incident at Salman Khan's residence, Mumbai police Crime Branch officials discovered that the suspects had been in the city for almost a month and were residing in a rented house at Panvel. The accused conducted reconnaissance at Salman Khan's farmhouse in Panvel and, for the last four days, they also scouted the areas around Galaxy Apartment to plan the firing. Police found that the suspects had only intended to threaten Salman Khan in order to gain publicity and give him a warning.

The Crime Branch officials also identified the two suspects as natives of Bihar, claiming to be associated with the arrested accused Lawrence Bishnoi, who is currently in Tihar jail. They sent a team to Bihar to track down the suspects. Sources from the Crime Branch revealed to mid-day that Salman Khan informed the police that he and his parents were sleeping at home during the firing and were suddenly awakened by alerts from the bodyguards.

Cops and forensics experts collect evidence from Galaxy Apts in Bandra. File pic

According to Crime Branch officials, the firing incident was orchestrated by the Bishnoi gang leader Lawrence Bishnoi's brother, Anmol Bishnoi, who ordered the hit on Salman Khan. The operation was carried out by shooter Rohit Godara and another gangster in the US. Godara hired two shooters from Bihar to carry out the firing.

Following the incident, Anmol Bishnoi created a Facebook account and uploaded a post claiming responsibility for the firing incident. The IP address of the Facebook post was traced back to Canada. Sources from the investigating team informed mid-day that the accused individuals arrived in Mumbai about a month ago and were staying in a rented house in Panvel. They used a bike belonging to a local resident to move around the area. The owners of the house and bike were questioned by officials of Crime Branch unit 9.

Before carrying out the firing, they initially targeted the Panvel farmhouse area but changed plans upon realising Salman Khan did not frequent the location. They then scouted the security at Galaxy Apartment and noted the presence of a police vehicle parked outside. The shooters decided to execute the firing in the early hours of the morning between 4-5 am.

The investigating team also discovered that for the past four days, the suspects had been regu visiting the Bandstand area near Galaxy Apartments. This led them to determine the timing for the shooting. They chose Sunday morning for the incident, timing it after the Saturday Ambedkar Jayanti celebrations, anticipating increased police presence. Bandra police and traffic police maintained security until 3.30 am along the Bandra highway and various locations in Bandra. The accused arrived near Galaxy Apartments around 3 am and upon noticing the police had scaled down security, they proceeded with the firing.

At 4.51 am, they fired five rounds at Salman Khan's apartment. Salman Khan woke up to the sound of gunshots, surrounded by his bodyguards. The Y-Plus category security provided by the police secured the area and conducted a thorough check. Approximately 25 teams, including Mumbai police zone 9, have been deployed to trace the accused.

25
No of police teams deployed to nab the shooters