The Mumbai Crime Branch revealed that the arrested accused in Bollywood superstar Salman Khan’s residence firing case had deliberately left various clues and some evidence behind which helped the investigators to track them down.
After the shooting, the alleged attackers Vicky Kumar Gupta, 25, and Sagar Kumar Palm, 23, both members of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang and now in police custody, left clues behind. The police said that the clues helped them in arresting the suspects.
According to the Mumbai Crime Branch, the suspects left the bike used in the Sunday morning shooting at the gate of Mount Mary Church, barely a kilometre from Salman Khan’s residence instead of carefully hiding it. An officer from Bandra police station said the bike has the original number plate, playing an important role in the investigation. “They could have easily distorted the number plate or even destroyed the bike but it was left near the crime scene,” he added.
Apart from this, the accused bought the motorcycle used in the shooting with their original documents. The police added that the suspects also made an agreement with the landlord of the rental house using their original documents and phone numbers.
The investigation also revealed that the accused were in touch with a member of Lawrence Bishnoi gang who ‘directed’ them to leave evidence for the police to trace them.
A Mumbai Crime Branch officer believed that the Bishnoi gang’s intention was only to warn Salman Khan and not to harm him. “The gang also wanted Gupta and Paul to be arrested so that they could confirm and take responsibility for the firing on behalf of their gang to instil fear in the public,” he added.
In the investigation, the police also found that this was the second visit of the shooters to Mumbai. Earlier they came to Mumbai in February and went back to their hometown to celebrate Holi on March 24 and came back to Mumbai on April 1.
The police also learned that the gun was supplied to them after April 1. It is pertinent to mention here that five rounds of shots were fired outside Salman Khan’s residence early on Sunday and one of the bullets landed on the balcony of the actor’s residence. The two accused escaped on a bike and were arrested later from Gujarat. On Tuesday, Salman Khan stepped out for the first time from his Mumbai residence, after shots were fired outside Galaxy apartment on April 14.