Salman Khan firing case: Pistols used in attack recovered from Tapi

The second gun was recovered from Tapi River in Surat on Tuesday. Pic/ANI

The Mumbai Crime Branch Unit-9 has recovered the two pistols used in the Salman Khan firing incident, along with four magazines and 13 live rounds from the Tapi River in Surat, Gujarat. The two pistols recovered by the crime branch are suspected to be foreign-made weapons, possibly of Chinese or Pakistani origin. The crime branch deployed skilled divers from Mumbai who used magnetic equipment to locate the firearms in the Tapi River. The first pistol was recovered on Monday from the same spot.

Senior Inspector Daya Nayak, leading Crime Branch Unit-9, accompanied one of the accused, Vicky Gupta, to the Tapi River to pinpoint the location where they disposed of the pistol. Gupta identified the pistol and confirmed its use in the firing incident.

The Tapi River in Surat flows through Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh. It has a depth ranging from 20 feet to 30 feet during high tide and a variable flow speed of 2-15 kmph, depending on winds. Strong undercurrents in the river made it challenging for divers to retrieve the objects in a stretch spanning approximately 1.2 km. The crime branch launched a search operation to recover the firearms from the river after Gupta revealed during interrogation how they had escaped and discarded the firearms.

According to a police officer, the brother of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, Anmol who claimed responsibility for the attack, had instructed the shooters to fire at least 10 rounds at Khan's residence. Anmol had also planned their escape. An officer stated that the Bishnoi gang, with over 700 operatives across five Indian states, is known for its distinctive firing patterns.

The gang operates primarily from Rajasthan, Haryana, and Punjab, with international networks extending to countries such as Italy, Armenia, Canada, Dubai, the Philippines, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, and Turkey. The duo, Vicky Gupta and Sagar Pal used the same firing pattern the gang is known for, including in the assassination of Punjab singer Sidhu Moose Wala and others.

April 14
Day firing incident took place