Salman Khan house firing case: Another Lawrence Bishnoi gang member arrested

Mumbai: The Mumbai Police have arrested one more member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang in connection with firing outside Bollywood superstar Salman Khan's residence here last month, officials said on Tuesday.

The accused, identified as Harpal Singh (34), a resident of Fatehabad in Haryana, was apprehended by a team of the Mumbai crime branch from his hometown on Monday evening, an official said.

Singh was brought to Mumbai in the early hours of Tuesday and will be produced before a court later in the day, he said.

This is the sixth arrest in connection with the firing incident.

"Singh is an important link of communication as he was directly in contact with Anmol Bishnoi and another gang leader Rohit Gudara," the official said.

Singh had asked another gang member, Mohammed Rafique Chowdhary, to conduct a recce around Khan's residence and also gave Rs 2 - 3 lakh to him, the official said.

Police are trying to find out who was providing money to Harpal Singh, he added.

During the investigation, it came to light that Chowdhary had recorded a video of Salman Khan's Bandra residence on April 12 and sent it to Harpal Singh and Anmol Bishnoi too, the official said.

Anmol Bishnoi, Gudara and Chowdhary were speaking on Signal app and also used to speak on video calls, he said, adding that it has been revealed that Anmol and Gudara were together when Chowdhary made a call to Anmol. After his role came to light in the case, Rohit Gudara was also named as a wanted accused in the case, the official said.

They have spoken before and after the firing incident as well, he said.

The crime branch officials also have evidence of Anmol Bishnoi, Gudara, and Harpal Singh's conversations on social media apps like Signal, he said.

Police are also investigating whether he was also in touch with Anuj Thapan and Sonu Bishnoi.

Thapan was arrested from Punjab along with Sonu Bishnoi for allegedly supplying weapons to the shooters in the case. Thapan committed suicide in the Mumbai police's crime branch lock-up.

After the arrest Singh was produced before the local court in Haryana, brought to Mumbai by flight on a transit remand in the early hours of Tuesday, and produced before a special MCOCA court, he said.

Two motorcycle-borne persons had opened fire outside Khan's residence at the Galaxy Apartment in Mumbai's Bandra area on April 14 and fled the spot.

Singh's name surfaced during the interrogation of Chowdhary, another Bishnoi gang member who was arrested earlier this month in the firing case, the official said.

Singh was connected with the Lawrence Bishnoi gang for the last couple of years. A case of firing and extortion was registered against him in Raipur, the official said.

During the interrogation of Chowdhary, it came to light that he also visited the residences of two more Bollywood personalities in a nearby area besides that of Salman Khan, the official said.

Lawrence Bishnoi, currently lodged in the Sabarmati central prison in Gujarat's Ahmedabad, and his younger brother Anmol Bishnoi, who is believed to be in the US or Canada, have been named in the firing case.