Rs 25-lakh contract, weapons from Pakistan: What the chargesheet on the plot to kill Salman Khan reveals

The Navi Mumbai Police has filed a new chargesheet against five accused of plotting to assassinate Bollywood actor Salman Khan.

The police say the accused, reportedly associated with the notorious Lawrence Bishnoi gang, have been charged with conspiracy to murder and other grave offences.

On April 14, two bike-borne men fired multiple rounds outside Khan’s residence in Bandra, leading to the arrest of six individuals. The gang, later, planned to attack the 58-year-old actor near his farmhouse in Panvel.

Here’s a look at what the chargesheet has said.

Fresh details in the new chargesheet

The 350-page chargesheet submitted to the Panvel magistrate court last week, names five Bishnoi gang members including Dhananjay Tapsingh alias Ajay Kashyap (28), Gautam Vinod Bhatia (29), Vaspi Mehmood Khan alias Cheena (36), Rizwan Hassan alias Javed Khan (25), and Deepak Hawasingh alias John Walmiki (30).

The men are being charged with criminal conspiracy (IPC Section 120 B), abetment (IPC Section 115), and criminal intimidation (IPC Section 506 (2)), as per The Times of India.

According to NDTV which cited the chargesheet, the Bishnoi gang had issued a contract worth Rs 25 lakh to assassinate Khan either during a movie shoot or while the actor was leaving his Panvel farmhouse.

The plan was hatched over several months, from August 2023 to April 2024.

As per investigations, the gang had planned to acquire advanced weapons from Pakistan, including AK-47s, AK-92s, M16 rifles, and the Turkey-made Zigana pistol, which was to assassinate Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala in broad day light on May 29, 2022.

The gang allegedly communicated through a WhatsApp group with 15-16 members, including Bishnoi’s Canada-based cousin Anmol Bishnoi , Goldy Brar, Kashyap, Bhatia, Cheena, and Javed Khan.

The Navi Mumbai Police also identified Sukha Shooter and Dogar from Pakistan as the suppliers of the weapons, as per TOI.

The plan also required tightened surveillance, with about 60 to 70 people tracking Khan’s every movement.

This extensive surveillance covered his residence in Bandra, his Panvel farmhouse, and the Goregaon Film City, where the actor often visited for shoots.

The chargesheet, according to India Today, claims that boys below the age of 18, who were hiding in Pune, Mumbai, Thane, Raigad, and Navi Mumbai, were recruited to execute the murder.

After executing the murder, the shooters had planned to flee to Kanyakumari through different routes and then to Sri Lanka through a boat, the chargesheet revealed, as per News9.

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The case

The investigation in the case began in early April when Panvel police inspector Nitin Thackeray received input about the planned attack on the 58-year-old actor.

To carry out their plans, which included surveying Salman Khan’s properties, Kashyap and his allies met secretly in key places, including the Panvel train station and bus stop.

Talks between Bishnoi and Kashyap showed that the associates were conversing on WhatsApp about exchanging guns and coordinating.

The attempt to attack was more than a month after two suspects opened fire outside Khan’s Mumbai residence.

Four suspects were apprehended by the police following the incident: Vicky Gupta and Sagar Pal were arrested in Gujarat, while Anuj Thapan and an additional person were held in Punjab on April 26.

Six people have been taken into custody, but Anuj Thapan died by suicide while in police custody, as per News18. An accidental death report has been registered at Azad Maidan police station in south Mumbai.

Speaking about the first attack, Pansare was quoted by Indian Express, “Bishnoi has several groups working independently of each other and we suspect one gang was conducting recce in Panvel while the other was in Mumbai.”

A day after the firing incident at Khan’s residence in Mumbai, Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde met with the actor and assured help.

“The government is with you, I have told Salman Khan. Both the accused have been arrested. They will be interrogated. We will get to the root of the case. Nobody will be spared. Nobody should targeted this way,” Eknath Shinde told mediapersons, adding, “No gang or gang war will be allowed. We won’t allow this to happen. We will finish (Lawrence) Bishnoi.”

Salman Khan has been on the hitlist of the Bishnoi gang since he shot a blackbuck during a shooting of his movie in Rajasthan in 1998 and has allegedly been receiving threats, the newspaper said.

According to police, Bishnoi is attempting to establish himself in Mumbai and start extorting people there.

With inputs from agencies