Recce before attack, plotting in US: Timeline of Salman Khan firing case

Recce before attack, plotting in US: Timeline of Salman Khan firing case

A second-hand bike, recce before firing and an auto-rickshaw ride to flee the scene, Mumbai Police has made significant progress in the investigation of the recent firing outside Bollywood superstar Salman Khan’s house.Â

Besides, police investigation suggests the attack was planned by gangsters residing in the US, sources said.

Two bike-borne unidentified persons opened fire outside Salman Khan’s house in the city’s Bandra area early Sunday morning. According to sources, those behind the incident had been planning the attack for some time, and were living at a rented house in Panvel for a month.

The two accused fired four rounds outside Bandra’s Galaxy Apartments, where the actor lives, around 5 am and fled from the spot.

BIKE OWNER QUESTIONED

The Mumbai Police reached the owner of the motorcycle allegedly used by unidentified persons in the firing. The motorcycle, which was abandoned near Mount Mary Church, a little over a kilometre from the actor’s house, was registered in the name of a man living in the Panvel area of Navi Mumbai.

During questioning, the owner of the bike said that he had recently sold it to someone else.

Meanwhile, the police are probing who informed the bike owner about the sale and whether there was any intermediary involved.

RECCE BEFORE FIRING

Mumbai Police, during its investigation, found that the accused had been loitering around Mumbai and its surrounding cities for a long time, sources told India Today TV. After purchasing the bike, they conducted a recce outside Salman’s residence four times.

The accused conducted a recce on every road leading out of Bandra to plan their escape.

AUTO RIDE TO FLEE THE SCENE

During the probe, the officials also found that after firing five rounds outside Galaxy Apartments, the accused abandoned near a church, walked some distance and took an autorickshaw to Bandra railway station. They then boarded a train from there to Santacruz station, alighted, and hired another auto-rickshaw to go further.

However, the police are yet to lock down their movements beyond Vakola.

PLOT IN THE US

Gangster Lawrence Bishnoi’s brother Anmol took responsibility for the firing incident in a Facebook post. According to sources, the post’s Canadian IP address is a smokescreen, with the actual location being California, US, through a Virtual Private Network (VPN).

The two accused are affiliated with the infamous Lawrence Bishnoi gang. Lawrence Bishnoi himself is lodged in Tihar Jail for his alleged role in multiple high-profile murder cases, which include the killings of musician Sidhu Moose Wala and Rajput leader and Karni Sena chief Sukhdev Singh Gogamedi.

TIMELINE OF THE INCIDENT

At around 5 am on Sunday, two unidentified assailants on a bike fired approximately five rounds. One bullet penetrated through the balcony into the house, while three hit a wall, and one cartridge was found on the ground.Â

The accused then approached an auto-rickshaw driver, enquiring about the route to Vasai Highway, but it is suspected that this was a deliberate attempt to mislead the police.

The accused then headed towards Mount Mary Church, where they abandoned the bike and switched to a different vehicle captured on CCTV footage.

From there, they took another vehicle and left.

They boarded a train from Bandra station’s platform number 1 around 5:08 am, heading towards Borivali. They disembarked at Santacruz station at 5:13 AM and proceeded towards Vakola.

The police suspect the involvement of a local contact to facilitate their escape.