Firing outside Salman's home: Cops claim 'international link'

The Mumbai police on Thursday told a court in Mumbai that there is a possibility of an 'international connection' in the recent firing outside Bollywood actor Salman Khan's residence.

The claim by the crime branch, which is probing the case, came as it sought further remand of the two accused in the case.

The court extended the custody of the duo till April 29.

Vicky Gupta (24) and Sagar Pal (21), both residents of Bihar, were produced before metropolitan magistrate court at the end of the previous remand on Thursday.

The police sought the extension of their custody by four days for further probe into the matter.

During the earlier custody, the court was told, firearms, cartridges and mobile phones were seized at the instance of the accused duo.

Police told the court that the accused had 40 cartridges of which two were used for checking the weapon, five while firing at the actor's residence in Mumbai.

They have recovered 17 cartridges and the remaining were yet to be found, the police said.

Police said they wanted to know who supplied the weapons and financial help to the accused.

Huge technical information from the mobile phones of the accused has been recovered and its analysis is possible only in the presence of the accused, the police said, making a case for extension in the custody of the accused.

There is the possibility of an 'international connection' in this crime, the cops claimed.

In view of all these aspects, further custody of the accused was needed, the police said.

Advocate Amit Mishra, who represented the accused, argued that his client's further custody was not required as the weapon used in the firing had been recovered and the two were cooperating with the investigation.

After hearing both sides, Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate L S Padhen extended the custody of Gupta and Pal till April 29.

Gupta and Pal allegedly fired outside 58-year-old Khan's house at the Galaxy Apartment in Bandra in the early hours of April 14 before fleeing the spot on a motorbike.

The accused were nabbed on April 16 from Mata No Madh village in Gujarat's Kutch district.

Later, the Mumbai police's crime branch recovered two pistols, magazines and bullets from the Tapi river in Gujarat during a search operation to recover weapons allegedly used in the firing, an official had said earlier.

The Mumbai police have also declared jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and his younger brother Anmol Bishnoi as 'wanted accused' in the case.

So far, the police have recorded nine statements, including two before a magistrate under CrPC (Code of Criminal Procedure).

In a related development, the Mumbai police on Thursday arrested two persons in Punjab in connection with the firing.

The two had provided two country-made pistols and cartridges to the shooters on March 15, a police official said.

Two more arrested from Punjab

Meanwhile, Mumbai police on Thursday arrested two persons in Punjab in connection with the case, an official said.

Sonu Subhash Chander (37) and Anuj Thapan (32) had provided two country-made pistols and cartridges to the shooters on March 15, the police official said.

Chander has a farm and a general store, whereas Thapan works as a truck helper and has three cases against his name, he said.

Both were arrested by a Crime Branch team from Punjab this evening and are being flown to Mumbai, the official said.

"They will be produced in a court here on Friday. Chander and Thapan had come to Panvel (in Raigad district near Mumbai) on March 15 to hand over two country-made pistols and 38 live rounds," the official said.

"Chander and Thapan stayed in Panvel with arrested shooters Sagar Pal (21) and Vicky Gupta (24) for three hours before leaving. Prior to handing over the pistols, Chander and Thapan fired two rounds from their stock of 40 bullets to check if the weapon was working," the official added.

As per the investigation so far, Thapan was in direct contact with jailed gangster Lanwrence Bishnoi and his brother Anmol Bishnoi, the official said.

The Mumbai police have declared the Bishnoi siblings as wanted accused in the case.

Based on a specific tip off as well as human intelligence and technical analysis, a Crime Branch team went to Punjab and nabbed Thapan and Chander, he said.

The official said a Delhi police team came to Mumbai to question Pal and Gupta in connection with cases registered there.