Salman Khan firing case: IP address of FB post claiming responsibility traced to Portugal: Mumbai police

Mumbai: The IP (Internet Protocol) address of the Facebook post claiming responsibility for firing at Bollywood actor Salman Khan's Mumbai residence has been traced to Portugal, a senior police officer said on Monday.

Prima facie, the shooters had conducted recce around Galaxy Apartment in Banda, where Khan lives, a few days ago, he said.

Police suspect a VPN (virtual private network) was used for uploading the Facebook post, allegedly by Anmol Bishnoi, the brother of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi on Sunday, he said.

A VPN establishes a digital connection between a computer and a remote server owned by a VPN provider, creating a point-to-point tunnel that encrypts personal data, masks IP addresses, and allows the user to sidestep website blocks and firewalls on the Internet.

The FB post claiming responsibility surfaced on Sunday at around 11 am, hours after shots were fired by two unidentified bike-borne men at Khan's residence around 5 AM.

"The IP address of the FB post was traced to Portugal. We are verifying," the officer added.

Notably, the post written in Hindi termed the firing as an 'event' and a 'trailer'.

“We have only shown you a trailer so that you understand the magnitude of our strength and do not test it. This is the first and last warning,' the post reads.

According to the officer, the shooters had conducted recce outside Khan's Bandra residence a few days ago.

Police are also examining CCTV footage of the area near Galaxy Apartment to verify whether the shooters were part of the crowd that gathered there on Eid on April 11 to catch a glimpse of Khan.

Meanwhile, considering the threat perception, security has been enhanced at the Galaxy Apartment.

"The actor has Y+ category security cover, but after the firing, the number of police personnel guarding him has been increased," the officer said.

Additionally, police are taking precautions during the movement of the actor, he said.

"Whenever Salman Khan will be out for film shooting, precautions will be taken accordingly," the officer said, adding a vehicle of the Special Protection Unit (SPU) remains stationed outside the Galaxy Apartment.

As a precautionary measure, local police are also deployed outside the apartment and patrolling has been intensified, he said.