Man hired to murder Bollywood actor Salman Khan for ₹25 lakh arrested in Haryana

The Navi Mumbai police have detained a man from Haryana who they believe conducted a recce of Salman Khan's Panvel property in February.

On April 24, the police filed a formal complaint alleging that there was a plot to attack the actor at his farmhouse. This was the second attempt after a shooting incident outside the actor's Mumbai Bandra apartment on April 14.

The chargesheet stated that the accused was promised ₹25 lakh to execute the attack and that they intended to procure weapons from Pakistan.

The plan was foiled when senior inspector Nitin Thakare got a tip about the suspects' whereabouts, which resulted in the arrest of five people connected to the case.

Sukhbir Balbir Singh, also known as Sukha, the accused who was detained, was purportedly an arms supplier who planned to get in touch with Dogar, a contact located in Pakistan, to obtain weapons.

Navi Mumbai police had been looking for Sukha and had lately discovered that he was hiding at a motel in Panipat, having changed his appearance by growing hair and beard.

According to investigations, 16 to 17 people were involved in the recce at Panvel. Dhananjay Tapesingh (alias Ajay Kashyap), Gaurav Bhatia (alias Nahvi), Vapsi Khan (alias Waseem Chikna), and Rizwan Khan were detained in June in connection with gangster Lawrence Bishnoi.

According to the Navi Mumbai police chargesheet against five accused, Salman Khan was the target of a ₹25 lakh contract from the Bishnoi gang, which intended to carry out the plan either while the actor was leaving his Panvel farmhouse or during a movie shoot.

The investigation has also shown that between 16 and 17 people, some of whom had been living in Panvel since November of last year, were involved in the operation. They performed recce there in February.

According to the charge sheet, the plot developed between August 2023 and April 2024, with plans to purchase sophisticated weapons from Pakistan, such as M16 rifles, AK-47s, AK-92s, and the Zigana pistol—made in Turkey—that had been used in the assassination of Punjabi musician Sidhu Moosewala.

A WhatsApp group with 15-16 members, including Anmol Bishnoi, Goldy Brar, Kashyap, Bhatia, Cheena, and Javed Khan, is purportedly where the gang communicated.

Sukha and Dogar from Pakistan were recognized by the Navi Mumbai police as the arms suppliers.

According to the chargesheet, the plan also included increased surveillance, with between 60 and 70 people keeping an eye on Khan's whereabouts.

Gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, who is thought to be connected to the Navi Mumbai and Mumbai crimes, has been keeping an eye on Salman Khan.

Bishnoi says that he is targeting Salman Khan because of an incident that happened in 1998 during a film shoot in Rajasthan when the actor shot dead blackbucks, which are sacred to the Bishnoi people.