One more arrested in connection with attack on Salman Khan
An alleged member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, Gogalia was supposed to provide accommodation and vehicles to the other accused as part of a plan to kill Khan
Mumbai: The Panvel police on Sunday arrested Deepak Hawasingh Gogalia alias Jani Valmiki, 30, from Haryana in connection with a plot to attack actor Salman Khan, taking the number of persons held in the case to five. An alleged member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, Gogalia was supposed to provide accommodation and vehicles to the other accused as part of a plan to kill Khan; he was also part of the WhatsApp group with the other accused and had been in touch with them via video calls, said police.
Gogalia’s arrest came a day after four alleged members of the Bishnoi gang – Dhananjay Singh Tape Singh alias Ajay Kashyap, Gaurav Bhatia alias Nyayi, Vaspi Khan alias Vaseem Chikna, and Zeeshan Khan alias Javed Khan – were nabbed from Ahmedabad and Hyderabad. According to the police, all five accused were part of a separate module of the gang that was not in contact with the assailants arrested for firing at the actor’s Bandra home on April 14. They allegedly planned to assassinate the actor using sophisticated weapons supplied via Pakistan on the orders of gangsters Bishnoi and Goldy Brar. They also conducted reconnaissance of Khan’s farmhouse in Panvel, his Bandra residence and various shooting locations in Mumbai, said police.
Gogaliya had been staying in Navi Mumbai for the past several months till he left for his native place in Haryana around two weeks ago. After getting specific information about him, deputy commissioner of police Vivek Pansare got in touch with the superintendent of police in Bhiwani Varun Singhala, seeking his help in arresting the accused. “A local police team was dispatched soon and we nabbed Gogalia with their help. He was produced in the local court and sent into transit remand till June 5,” said a police officer.
The Panvel police launched a separate probe into the attack on Salman Khan’s residence after inspector Nitin Thakre from Navi Mumbai police received a tip-off that some members of the Bishnoi gang had been staying in Panvel and Kalamboli for the preceding few days. The gang members were in touch with Lawrence’s brother Anmol Bishnoi, and Goldy Brar, the informant told police. He also showed the police high-tech weapons via video calls and told them that their shooters, hiding in Mumbai, Panvel, Gujarat, and Raigad, were waiting for orders from Bishnoi, Rohit Godara, and Anmol Bishnoi to eliminate the actor.
Accordingly, the Panvel police registered an FIR naming 18 persons, who were booked under sections 115 (abetment of offence punishable), 120B (criminal conspiracy), and 506(2) (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.
According to the police, Kashyap, arrested on Saturday, had been staying in Panvel since August 2023, holding meetings with other members at the Panvel bus stand and other locations. They planned to import weapons from Pakistan through an individual named Dongar, who supplies weapons to the Bishnoi gang. The weapons were to reach Panvel via the Rajasthan border.
The accused also intended to involve minors in the crime and meet in Kanyakumari after carrying out the crime so they could escape via sea to Sri Lanka, with Anmol arranging the logistics.
