The Bombay High Court on Friday granted bail to two men, Gaurav Bhatia (also known as Sandeep Bishnoi) and Waspi Mehmud Khan, who were arrested last year for their alleged involvement in a plot orchestrated by the Bishnoi gang to kill Bollywood actor Salman Khan near his Panvel farmhouse. Justice N.R. Borkar approved their bail applications, although the detailed court order is yet to be made public.
According to Navi Mumbai Police, Bhatia and Khan, along with other accomplices, had conducted surveillance at various locations connected to Salman Khan, including his Panvel farmhouse, Bandra residence, and several film shooting sites he frequented. This led to the registration of a case against 18 members of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang for conspiring to assassinate the actor.
The investigation gained traction following an April 2024 shooting incident outside Khan's Bandra residence, carried out by two gang members. Those named in the First Information Report (FIR) include Lawrence Bishnoi, who is currently incarcerated in Ahmedabad, his brother Anmol Bishnoi, and other gang members like Sampat Nehra, Goldie Brar, and Rohit Godhara.
Authorities further disclosed that one of the suspects had been in contact with a Pakistan-based individual in an attempt to acquire AK-47 rifles for the planned attack. The assailants had also reportedly planned to regroup in Kanyakumari before fleeing to Sri Lanka