GUWAHATI: Anuj Thapan, an accused in the Salman Khan house firing case, died in police custody after attempting suicide on Wednesday, May 1. Thapan, 23, was arrested for allegedly supplying firearms to the shooters involved in the firing incident outside the Bollywood actor's Galaxy Apartments in Bandra on April 14.
Thapan reportedly hanged himself using a bedsheet in the toilet of the police lock-up. He was taken to GT Hospital, where he was declared dead after medical treatment. Police have registered an accidental death report at the Azad Maidan police station in south Mumbai.
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Thapan and another accused, Sonu Subhash Chander, were arrested from Punjab for allegedly providing guns to shooters Vicky Gupta and Sagar Pal, who were involved in the firing outside Salman Khan's residence. The Mumbai Crime Branch has named gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and his brother Anmol Bishnoi as wanted accused in connection with the case.
According to the Mumbai Crime Branch, the shooters had reached Salman Khan's residence four times before the attack. They also staked out the actor's farmhouse in Panvel, Raigad district, but planned the firing at Galaxy Apartments as Salman Khan had not visited his farmhouse in several days. Anmol Bishnoi claimed responsibility for the attack on social media following the incident.
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Lawrence Bishnoi is currently in custody in Gujarat's Sabarmati Jail. A lookout circular (LOC) has been issued for Anmol Bishnoi, who remains at large. Mumbai Police allege that Thapan and Chander had delivered two country-made pistols and 38 live rounds to the shooters. However, their lawyer, advocate Ajay Dubey, has contested these claims, stating that the accused did not supply the weapons or have connections to the Bishnoi gang.
The Mumbai Crime Branch apprehended Gupta and Pal in Gujarat's Kutch district and recovered two pistols, magazines, and bullets from the Tapi River near Surat during a search operation to locate the weapons allegedly used in the firing. Authorities are considering invoking the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) in this case. Further investigations are ongoing.
