How did two separate teams from city fail to net shooters despite clear head-start, ceding credit to Guj cops? Top sources give mid-day the low-down
Salman at his farmhouse. File pic
The Mumbai police’s setback turned into a win for the Gujarat police when they arrested the shooters targeting Salman Khan. While Mumbai officers tracked the shooters, a Crime Branch team flew to Kutch and hired a BMW. Meanwhile, the Sahar police team already at the Rajkot border were also on alert.
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The accused in Crime Branch’s custody
Despite being closest to the shooters, Sahar police wasted two hours for lunch and refuelling. Concerned the shooters might escape, the Mumbai cops had to involve the Crime Branch team from Kutch. The Kutch team rushed to a temple where the shooters were hiding and nabbed them. Though Mumbai cops led the operation, Gujarat police took credit and even held a press conference.
Two shooters, Vicky Gupta and Sagar Pal, fired five rounds at Salman Khan’s house in Galaxy Apartment in Bandra, on a moving bike on April 14 at 4.51 am. They parked their bike outside Mount Mary church in Bandra and escaped from Mumbai. The Bandra police began tracing them with the help of CCTV cameras installed in the area and identified them because of the bike and their rented house agreement in Panvel. The Mumbai police Cyber Police started chasing them, but after crossing Mira Road, they switched off their mobile phones. Once they reached Surat, they switched on their mobile phones again and allegedly contacted gangster Anmol Bishnoi, then threw the gun into the Tapi River and started moving towards Kutch Bhuj in Gujarat.
The Bandra police team reached the shooters’ house in Champaran district in Bihar and deployed a team. Additionally, 4-5 teams were deployed in Rajkot, Rajasthan, Punjab, and Haryana states to nab the shooters. On April 16, shooters Vicky and Sagar were found moving towards Bhuj around 12 pm, and they alerted the Sahar police station team deployed at the Rajkot border.
The Sahar police station team, deployed at the Rajkot border, started heading towards Kutch Bhuj, which is hardly 300 kilometres away from the Rajkot border, and the travel time is 5-6 hours. The Sahar police were in an Ertiga Car. At around 12 pm on April 16, the Sahar police team started their journey after receiving orders. The Sahar police team was the only team which was close to the shooters. Mumbai police also expected that Sahar police would reach Bhuj before the accused would arrive, estimated to be at 5 pm-5.30 pm.
Meanwhile, the Sahar police team stopped the car during the journey to have lunch on the highway. They stopped the car at a Dhaba, had lunch, and spent almost more than 1 hour at the Dhaba. Instead of taking a food parcel in the car to reach Bhuj at the earliest, the cops decided to finish lunch first. The Mumbai police team alerted the Sahar police multiple times about why they stopped their car in between, and they informed the Mumbai police that they stopped their car to eat food.
After the lunch break, the Sahar police again started their journey and moved towards Bhuj for a 300-kilometre journey. After 2-3 hours of journey, the cops decided to fuel up. The car stopped at the CNG station, where they found a long queue for refilling CNG. The cops decided to wait in the queue to refill the CNG in the car. They took almost 30-45 minutes to refuel, which was crucial time wasted instead of driving the car on petrol. The Sahar police team, deployed by the Mumbai police, did not have much experience with such investigations. They joined the force 3-4 years back. However, after refilling
CNG, the Sahar police team again started their journey to apprehend the accused.
The Mumbai Crime Branch Unit 9 team received crucial information about the accused moving towards Bhuj. The Crime Branch Unit 9 team was also tracking the accused’s location as both of them were travelling in a government bus towards Bhuj. The Crime Branch Unit 9 team took a flight from Mumbai and reached Bhuj airport immediately to arrest the accused.
The Crime Branch Unit 9 team reached Bhuj Airport around 5-6 pm on April 16. The Crime Branch team hired a BMW car to swiftly reach the spot without wasting time. The distance from Bhuj airport to the ‘Mata No Madh’ temple in Bhuj is approximately 99 kilometres. Meanwhile, the shooters arrived at the ‘Mata No Madh’ temple in Bhuj, just 15 kilometres away from the India-Pakistan border. Inside the temple, they encountered a Bishnoi gang member who instructed them to rest for some time, promising a mobile phone and cash in the morning. Both shooters decided to rest in the temple area.
The Mumbai Crime Branch Unit 9 team discovered that the shooters had already taken refuge inside the temple and found a stable location. The Crime Branch also suspected that the shooters might attempt to cross the border, which was only 15 kilometres away. Concerned about this possibility, the Crime Branch team informed the Kutch West local Crime Branch city team to apprehend the accused. The Unit 9 team shared photos of the shooters with the Kutch Crime Branch team. The Kutch team promptly formed a team and commenced a search inside the temple, leading to the capture of the accused.
At around 6.45 pm, the Kutch Crime Branch team apprehended the accused and escorted them to the local police station. By 7 pm, the Mumbai Crime Branch Unit 9 team reached Bhuj and took custody of both the accused from the Kutch local Crime Branch team. Meanwhile, the Sahar police team arrived at the police station around 7.15 pm. A police source informed mid-day that the Sahar police team had missed a golden opportunity to capture the shooters, allegedly due to wasting two hours on lunch and refuelling the Ertiga Car, resulting in a prolonged wait in the queue. The Mumbai Crime Branch Unit 9 team took the accused into custody and transported them to Mumbai via a late-night flight on April 16.
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