Salman Khan firing incident: 5th accused, who financed shooters, arrested from Rajasthan

The Mumbai Crime Branch has arrested Mohammad Chaudhary, the fifth accused from Rajasthan, in the Salman Khan housing firing case. Chaudhary assisted shooters Sagar Pal and Vicky Gupta with funding and reconnaissance. He will be brought to Mumbai for court proceedings, including a custody request. 

On April 14, two individuals on a motorcycle fired outside Salman Khan's residence in Mumbai's Bandra area. Four individuals, including the shooters, have been previously arrested. Gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and his brother Anmol Bishnoi are also wanted in connection with the case.

Anuj Thapan, one of the arrested individuals in the Salman Khan housing firing case, passed away in Mumbai Police custody. Thapan, accused of providing firearms and bullets for the incident, was arrested on April 26 in Punjab along with Sonu Bishnoi. He was in police custody until April 30. The police have applied the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crimes Act (MCOCA) in this case.

The police had presented all four accused, including Anuj Thapan, before a special court on April 29, which remanded them to police custody until May 8. Thapan was discovered deceased in the lock-up's toilet at the crime branch in the commissionerate complex at Crawford Market on May 1.

Following Thapan's death, his family petitioned the Bombay High Court for a CBI investigation, disputing the police's assertion that Thapan had committed suicide in the lock-up. His mother, Rita Devi, alleged foul play and claimed he was murdered.

The petition accuses the police of physically assaulting and torturing Thapan in custody. It also asks the high court to compel the police to provide CCTV footage from the police station and the lock-up where Thapan was detained. Additionally, the petitioner requests the preservation of call data records (CDR) of the police officials investigating the firing incident from April 24 to May 2, and seeks directions for a fresh post-mortem in Thapan's case.

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