Accused in Salman Khan’s house firing case commits suicide in jail

One of the two arms suppliers involved in the firing incident outside Bollywood actor Salman Khan's house reportedly died by suicide while in police custody today. Anuj Thapan, aged 32, who had been apprehended from Punjab on April 26, allegedly took his own life in a toilet attached to the police lock-up at 11am, according to sources.

The deceased was housed in the lock-up with 10 other inmates and was under the supervision of four to five policemen. 

Anuj and the other accused, Sonu Subhash Chander, reportedly provided the weapons used in the shooting incident outside the Mumbai home of Salman Khan on April 14.

The circumstances leading to Anuj Thapan's suicide are currently under investigation, as per sources.

PK Jain, a former senior police officer from Maharashtra, informed NDTV that any death occurring in a police lock-up is treated as a murder case, affirming, "All the policemen in the police station will be questioned by the CID (Criminal Investigation Department)."

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The former senior police officer mentioned that typically, the police conduct thorough checks of lock-ups to remove any objects that could potentially be used by individuals to take their own lives.

"There have been cases when people have died by suicide with a noose made from pajamas inside lock-ups... A policeman always guards the lock-up to ensure inmates don't escape, and also to keep an eye on suicide attempts," PK Jain explained. 

Two other individuals, Vicky Gupta and Sagar Pal, who are suspected of firing the shots, are also currently in police custody. Surveillance footage reportedly captured both individuals leaving the area on a motorcycle on the night of the incident.

All four accused are believed to have direct or indirect connections with Lawrence Bishnoi, a jailed gangster. According to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Bishnoi is primarily involved in activities such as kidnapping, murder, extortion for ransom, cross-border smuggling of sophisticated weapons and narcotics, in-land smuggling of contraband, and illegal liquor smuggling.

Last month, the Mumbai Crime Branch announced that it had gathered substantial evidence against Lawrence Bishnoi and his brother Anmol Bishnoi. Following this development, the Crime Branch declared both individuals as the prime suspects wanted in the case.

Starting in November 2022, Salman Khan's security status has been heightened to Y-Plus as a result of threats posed by Lawrence Bishnoi and another gangster named Goldy Brar. Under this security arrangement, Khan is authorised to possess a personal firearm and travels in a vehicle equipped with armour.

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