Salman Khan assassination plot: 18 involved in conspiracy, say cops; sixth accused arrested

Security was recently beefed up outside Salman Khan’s Bandra residence. Pic/Ashish Raje

The Panvel City police have arrested a sixth accused in connection with the assassination plot against Bollywood actor Salman Khan. The accused, identified as Sukhbinder alias Sukha, was arrested in Haryana. In June, the Panvel City police had already filed a charge sheet against five other accused in the case. According to the charge sheet, the gang had closely monitored Salman Khan's movements from his Bandra residence to his Panvel farmhouse and the Film City in Mumbai, planning to kill him in a manner similar to the assassination of singer Sidhu Moose Wala. They intended to use weapons like AK-47, M16, and AK-92, which were supposed to be supplied from Pakistan by a member of the Bishnoi gang.

According to sources, the Panvel City police have named at least 18 accused in the case and have arrested six so far. Sukha, who was arrested in Panipat, Haryana, on Wednesday night, is being brought to Navi Mumbai. Officials stated that he is a known member of the Bishnoi gang and had been on the Navi Mumbai police's radar. "The accused has been arrested and is being brought to Navi Mumbai. We cannot reveal more details until we interrogate him," a senior officer of the Navi Mumbai police said.

According to the Navi Mumbai police, the shooters were offered a contract of Rs 25 lakh to kill Salman Khan. The planning took place between August 2023 and April 2024 before the Panvel City police made the first arrest in the case, led by Police Inspector Anjum Bagwan. The Panvel City police have already filed charge sheets against five accused, identified as Dhananjay Singh alias Ajay Kashyap (arrested from Uttar Pradesh), Gaurav Bhatia alias Nahayi alias Sandeep Bishnoi (arrested from Gujarat), Vaspi Mehmood Khan alias Waseem Chikna (arrested from Sambhaji Nagar), Zishaan Zakrul Hasan alias Javed Khan (arrested from Uttar Pradesh), and Deepak Hawa Singh Gogaliya alias John Walmiki. The police have named 18 accused in the FIR, including Lawrence Bishnoi and Goldy Brar.

As per the charge sheet, the plan was orchestrated by Lawrence Bishnoi, his brother Anmol, Goldy Brar, and a Pakistani individual, Dogar. The accused formed a WhatsApp group to coordinate the attack, with Dogar providing weapons from Pakistan. Around 60-70 people were involved in the conspiracy, conducting surveillance on Salman Khan's locations, including his home and film sets. The information was received by investigating officer PI Nitin Thackeray on November 26, 2023. The officials acted on this information and made the first arrest, of Kashyap, on April 28 this year.

The charge sheet further revealed that during the investigation, officials discovered a WhatsApp video where the accused, Kashyap, was on a call with a wanted individual named Dogar in Pakistan. In the video, Dogar was displaying high-tech weapons intended to be transported to India to kill Salman Khan. "Dogar said that we could purchase these high-tech weapons, but the amount needed to be transferred to our boss Goldy Brar's account in Canada. Once this was done, the weapons could be transported from Pakistan," the police noted in the charge sheet.

The charge sheet also states that once the weapons were transported to India, various shooters were stationed in Pune, Raigad, Thane, Navi Mumbai, and Gujarat on the orders of Goldy Brar. "The shooters awaited orders from Brar and Anmol Bishnoi to kill Salman Khan. For the shootings, they assigned people who were below 18 years of age. Additionally, the members assigned one person, named John, to provide a vehicle for the shooters to carry out the assassination," the charge sheet read.