Firing outside Salman Khan home: Cops claim ‘international link’ in court

Mumbai, Apr 25 (PTI) The Mumbai police on Thursday told a court here that there is a possibility of an “international connection” in the recent firing outside Bollywood actor Salman Khan’s residence.

The claim by the crime branch, which is probing the case, came as it sought further remand of the two accused in the case. The court extended the custody of the duo till April 29.

Vicky Gupta (24) and Sagar Pal (21), both residents of Bihar, were produced before metropolitan magistrate court at the end of the previous remand on Thursday.

The police sought the extension of their custody by four days for further probe into the matter.

During the earlier custody, the court was told, firearms, cartridges and mobile phones were seized at the instance of the accused duo.

Police told the court that the accused had 40 cartridges of which two were used for checking the weapon, five while firing at the actor's residence in the city.

They have recovered 17 cartridges and the remaining were yet to be found, the police said.

Police said they wanted to know who supplied the weapons and financial help to the accused.

Huge technical information from the mobile phones of the accused has been recovered and its analysis is possible only in the presence of the accused, the police said, making a case for extension in the custody of the accused.

There is the possibility of an “international connection” in this crime, the cops claimed.

In view of all these aspects, further custody of the accused was needed, the police said.

Advocate Amit Mishra, who represented the accused, argued that his client’s further custody was not required as the weapon used in the firing had been recovered and the two were cooperating with the investigation.

After hearing both sides, Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate L S Padhen extended the custody of Gupta and Pal till April 29.

Gupta and Pal allegedly fired outside 58-year-old Khan’s house at the Galaxy Apartment in Bandra in the early hours of April 14 before fleeing the spot on a motorbike.

The accused were nabbed on April 16 from Mata No Madh village in Gujarat’s Kutch district.

Later, the Mumbai police's crime branch recovered two pistols, magazines and bullets from the Tapi river in Gujarat during a search operation to recover weapons allegedly used in the firing, an official had said earlier.

The Mumbai police have also declared jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and his younger brother Anmol Bishnoi as “wanted accused” in the case.

So far, the police have recorded nine statements, including two before a magistrate under CrPC (Code of Criminal Procedure).

In a related development, the Mumbai police on Thursday arrested two persons in Punjab in connection with the firing. The two had provided two country-made pistols and cartridges to the shooters on March 15, a police official said. PTI