Salman firing: Bishnoi gang member held; mystery over ‘bigger task than shooters’

The Mumbai crime branch has reportedly arrested a member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang from Rajasthan for allegedly making payments to the shooters involved in firing outside Bollywood superstar Salman Khan’s house. He had apparently been given a “bigger task” than the shooters.

The accused, Mohammed Rafique Chowdhary (37), was arrested from Bansi village of Nagaur district in Rajasthan, news agency PTI reported quoting officials in the know. He allegedly helped the two suspected shooters buy a motorcycle and rent a house.

Chowdhary allegedly said in a meeting with the shooters that Anmol Bishnoi, the younger brother of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, had given him a “bigger task” than them, an official told PTI.

Two motorcycle-borne persons opened fire outside Khan’s residence at the Galaxy Apartment in Mumbai’s Bandra area on April 14 and fled the spot.

Fifth arrest

Choudhary, the fifth person to be arrested in the firing case, was produced before a Mumbai court, which remanded him in police custody.

His name cropped up during the interrogation of the other accused persons and also during technical analysis of their mobile phones, said the official.

Chowdhary’s family members stay in Mumbai and run a dairy business. Chowdhary, who has studied up to Class 12, was reportedly in direct contact with Anmol Bishnoi and another gang leader, Rohit Gadara.

He used to work in the dairy business of his family in South Mumbai. However, during the pandemic, the dairy business shut down, following which he came into contact with the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, the official told PTI.

He was recruited into the gang by Anmol Bishnoi. After joining the gang, he used to remain mostly in his hometown, the official said.

Alleged involvement in shooting

When the alleged shooters Sagar Pal and Vicky Gupta came to Mumbai, Anmol Bishnoi instructed them to meet Chowdhary. The trio met at Kurla on April 8, a week before shooting outside Khan’s house, the official said.

During the meeting, Chowdhary told the shooters to complete the task given to them and leave the metropolis. Anmol Bishnoi told Chowdhary he had been given a “bigger task” than the shooters, he said.

The Mumbai police are now investigating what kind of task Chowdhary was assigned by Anmol Bishnoi, the official said.

According to another official, Chowdhary surveyed Khan’s residence several times.

As Chowdhary was in direct contact with Anmol Bishnoi and Rohit Gudara, the crime branch suspects that the two gangsters are together, the official told PTI.

Earlier, Gudara was traced in the UK and he may be now with Anmol Bishnoi in the USA, he said.

Payment to alleged shooters

Choudhary allegedly gave Pal and Gupta money to buy a motorcycle and rent a house, he said.

The shooters had received money from various persons connected with the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, including Chowdhary, who had provided over Rs 1 lakh in cash for the purchase of a motorbike, renting a house in Panvel near Mumbai, and other expenses, said the official.

Chowdhary also received money from the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, the official said.

One of the arrested persons, Anuj Thapan, who was accused of supplying weapons to the shooters, allegedly hanged himself in a police lock-up in Mumbai on May 1.

Lawrence Bishnoi, currently lodged in the Sabarmati central prison in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad, and his younger brother Anmol Bishnoi, who is believed to be in the US or Canada, have been named in the firing case.

(With agency inputs)