Mumbai: Bollywood actor Salman Khan has told police that he believed the Lawrence Bishnoi gang carried out the firing at his residence here in April this year with the intention to kill him and his family members.
The actor’s statement is part of the charge sheet filed by Mumbai Police in a court here in connection with the incident. He heard a firecracker-like sound while being asleep at his residence in Galaxy Apartments in the early hours of April 14, Khan told police.
His police bodyguard told him around 4.55 am that two people on motorbike had fired at the first-floor balcony, he said.
There had been attempts to hurt him and his family earlier, Khan said, adding that his bodyguard lodged a complaint regarding the firing at Bandra police station.
The actor learnt later that gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and his brother Anmol Bishnoi had confessed and taken responsibility of the attack in a Facebook post, the statement said.
Lawrence Bishnoi and his gang members had talked about killing Khan and his relatives earlier too, the statement said, adding, “So, I believe that Lawrence Bishnoi, with the help of his gang members, carried out the firing incident when my family members were sleeping and (they were) planning to kill me and my family members.”
He and his family had received several other threats in recent years, the actor told police.
In 2022, a threat letter was found on a bench opposite his building, while in March 2023, they received an email threat from the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, he said.
Two unidentified persons tried to trespass into his farmhouse near Panvel using fake identities in January 2024, the actor noted.
Police filed the 1,735-page charge sheet in the firing case before the special court for Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act cases earlier this month.
The court recently took cognizance of the charge sheet, saying that prima facie there was enough material to proceed against the six arrested accused.
Those arrested in the case were Vickykumar Gupta, Sagarkumar Pal, Sonukumar Bishnoi, Anujkumar Thapan (now deceased), Mohd Rafiq Choudhary and Harpal Singh.
Thapan allegedly committed suicide in police custody after his arrest. The other five are now in judicial custody. Salman Khan’s brother and actor-producer Arbaaz Khan too told police about the prior threats received by the family, and the trespassing at their Panvel farmhouse.
“Hence, Salman Khan would always tell our family members to be alert about their safety,” Arbaaz said in his statement, also part of the charge sheet.ย
He was out of town when the April 14 firing incident took place, Arbaaz said, adding that he too believed that Lawrence Bishnoi and his gang members carried out the attack to kill his family members.ย
