Lawrence Bishnoi members arrested for planning attack on Salman Khan
Four members of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang were arrested by the Mumbai Police on Saturday, as they were reportedly planning an attack on Salman Khan's car in Panvel. The individuals apprehended are Dhananjay alias Ajay Kashyap, Gaurav Bhatia alias Nahvi, Waspi Khan alias Wasim Chikna, and Rizwan Khan alias Javed Khan. According to police reports, the gang acquired "AK-47s, M-16s, and other high-caliber weapons" from a Pakistani arms dealer for their planned assault.
As many as 60-70 people were involved
Per Navi Mumbai Police, "The accused had done a recce of Khan's house and farmhouse. Accused Ajay Kashyap contacted a person named Dogar in Pakistan through a video call and weapons like AK-47 were ordered from Pakistan to attack Khan." "The police got the information that about 60 to 70 boys of Lawrence Bishnoi and Sampat Nehra's gang came from Mumbai, Raigad, Navi Mumbai, Thane, Pune and Gujarat and are keeping an eye on Khan."
FIR registered against 17 people including gang leaders
An FIR has been lodged against more than 17 individuals, including incarcerated Lawrence Bishnoi, his brother Anmol Bishnoi, Sampat Nehra, and Goldy Brar in relation to the case. This development follows a previous incident where two men fired multiple rounds outside Khan's residence in Mumbai on April 14. The shooters, identified as Vicky Gupta and Sagar Pal, were later arrested from Gujarat. In total, six arrests were made, although accused Anuj Thapan allegedly died by suicide in police custody.
Two more gang members arrested in Patiala
On Monday, two operatives of the Bishnoi gang were apprehended from Rajpura, as informed by Patiala Senior SP Varun Sharma. The arrested individuals were identified as Harjinder Singh and Subir Singh—both hailing from Punjab's Zirakpur in SAS Nagar district. "Both the arrested accused persons have criminal histories as accused Laadi has around six criminal cases pertaining to murder, attempt to murder, extortion, and arms-related offenses registered against him, while accused Subi has two criminal cases against him," PTI quoted Sharma.
Meanwhile, Raipur Police arrested four shooters linked to the attack
Recently, the Raipur police apprehended four shooters from the Aman Sahu gang in connection with the firing incident that occurred on April 14 outside Khan's Galaxy Apartments. These suspects were arrested from Rajasthan and Jharkhand following intelligence inputs. Reports suggest they were operating under instructions from a mastermind based in Malaysia, Mayank Singh, who is believed to direct operations for Bishnoi and Sahu.
Threatening email triggered FIR against gangsters
In March last year, an email threatening Khan was received at his office, leading to the Mumbai Police registering an FIR against gangsters Bishnoi and Brar under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 506-II (criminal intimidation) and 34 (common intention). The complaint was lodged by Prashant Gunjalkar, who frequently visited Khan's Bandra-based residence and ran an artist management company. Notably, the gang is after Khan, who is accused of shooting a blackbuck—a species revered by the Bishnoi community.
Khan's security level elevated amid threats
Following threats from Bishnoi and Brar, Khan's security level has been raised to Y-Plus since November 2022. The actor has also been granted permission to carry a personal firearm for his protection. Additionally, he has acquired a new armored vehicle for added safety. Meanwhile, after the April 14 incident, Mumbai police stationed an extra police van—manned by six to eight officers—on the main road adjacent to the Galaxy Apartments.
