Mumbai: Inside the plot to shoot at Salman Khan

Illustrations/Uday Mohite

Two shooters arrested in the Salman Khan firing case are Vickey Kumar Gupta, 25, and Sagar Kumar Pal, 23, both residents of Champaran district in Bihar. They met two years ago in Haryana while seeking employment and allegedly joined the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. The accused received training in marksmanship and basic gun handling. Acting on the orders of Anmol Bishnoi, brother of Lawrence, they were assigned to carry out a shoot-out at Salman's residence. They arrived in Mumbai on February 28 via train from Surat, disembarking at Mumbai Central station and reached Bandra via a local train.

On March 1, in the afternoon, both accused reached Panvel near the actor Salman's farmhouse. They rented a room for R3,000 per month with a deposit of Rs 10,000 on an 11-month agreement and purchased a second-hand bike for Rs 20,000 from a local. They also received delivery of a gun to carry out the shoot-out.

Both accused conducted recce on a bike at Salman's residence at Galaxy Apartment in Bandra and his farmhouse at Panvel. They surveyed the area, noting the entry and exit points and traffic patterns, planning the shooting for Eid. However, they abandoned the plan, deeming it difficult to escape from the crowd.

On Sunday around 3 am, both accused reached Salman's residence. Before firing, they surveyed the area until the highway. Around 4.51 am, they arrived outside Galaxy Apartment. Without stopping the vehicle, they fired five rounds at Salman's residence. The first bullet pierced the curtains and entered Salman's balcony, the second hit the gallery wall, the third hit the 1st and 2nd-floor wall just above the window of Salman's apartment, the third bullet was fired into the air, and the fifth live bullet was found at the spot. Both the accused then fled.

Both accused rode the bike to Mount Mary church, abandoning it at the main gate. They took an auto to Bandra railway station, then a train to Santacruz railway station. They took another auto to reach Vakola signal on Western Express Highway, then another to Mira Road highway. They rented a car and reached the Surat-based ST bus depot, travelling by government buses to reach Bhuj in Gujarat.

During the investigation, police checked over 500 CCTV cameras, finding footage of the accused abandoning the bike outside Mount Mary church in Bandra. They traced the bike owner through the RTO, locating him in Panvel.

Police visited the bike owner's house in Panvel, discovering that the bike was purchased for R20,000 in cash a few days earlier. The landlord provided information that the accused had been staying in the same chawl since March, providing a rental agreement with the shooters' phone numbers.

Police traced the given mobile numbers and located the accused in the Kutch Bhuj (Madh) area in a Mataji temple on Monday night. They were brought to Mumbai via flight, produced in court, and remanded to police custody.