Salman Khan house firing case: Charges framed; when's the trial?
What's the story
A special Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act (MCOCA) court has framed charges against five individuals, including the alleged shooters, in connection with the 2024 Salman Khan residence firing case. The accused are Vicky Kumar Gupta, Sagar Kumar Pal, Sonu Kumar Bishnoi, Rafiq Sardar Choudhari, and Harpal Singh. They have pleaded not guilty to the charges. Now that the charges have been framed, the next step is to set the trial date. Nothing has been confirmed yet.
Incident details
The incident occurred in April 2024
On April 14, 2024, two men on a motorcycle allegedly fired shots outside Galaxy Apartment in Bandra, the residence of Bollywood actor Khan. Gupta and Pal, alongside the other three accused, are currently in judicial custody. Another accused, Anuj Kumar Thapan, who was also arrested in this case, reportedly died by suicide while in police custody.
Criminal conspiracy
Accused were part of organized crime syndicate
The accused, along with absconding individuals, were involved in a criminal conspiracy and were members of an organized crime syndicate led by gangster Lawrence Bishnoi. Lawrence, his brother Anmol Bishnoi, and Ravtaram Swami have been named as wanted accused in the case. The charge order stated that they had a common objective to commit murder using firearms and instill fear in the citizens of Mumbai to establish supremacy.
Role of accused
The accused provided information, weapons to shooters
Singh provided information collected by Choudhari, who had conducted a recce of Khan's house, to the wanted accused. Bishnoi supplied weapons and bullets to Gupta and Pal, who fired at Khan's residence with the intention of killing him. The charge order stated that each of the accused committed an offense under IPC provisions for criminal conspiracy and attempt to murder.
Accused's whereabouts
Bishnoi brothers' current status
While Lawrence is lodged in an Ahmedabad jail, his brother Anmol was recently deported to India from the USA and is currently in National Investigation Agency custody in another case. The brothers have targeted Khan for years now, owing to the actor's 1998 blackbuck case.