Mumbai: The special MCOCA court has rejected bail application of Vicky Gupta, the man who opened fire outside Bollywood actor Salman Khan’s house.
Vicky Gupta had moved bail plea in August claiming, "He was actually influenced by the Character of Lawrence Bishnoi from the Electronic, Print & Social Media, and was magnetically attached to the principles followed by Lawrence Bishnoi, as Lawrence Bishnoi was the ardent follower of Bhagat Singh."
Besides he claimed that he was not aware about the said conspiracy till the day before the alleged attack was carried out. He claimed that he had contacted Sagarkumar Pal, native of his village for a job and allegedly connected to Bishnoi gang.
"He was working as a labour in Tamil Nadu, and owing to Covid19 Pandemic, he lost his job therefore, he was having no other alternatives, but to contact Pal," Gupta claimed adding that Pal promised him to get a job of a driver in Jalandhar. However, when he visited Jalandhar, Pal asked him to go to Mumbai.
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"The Accused No.2 ( Pal) informed the Applicant that we have to visit to the City of Mumbai, for one auspicious religious mission to accomplish the same, and as the Applicant to feed his family was in dire need of money, and the Applicant was having no other alternatives, but to visit the City of Mumbai," reads the bail plea. Gupta claimed that a night before the alleged attack, he had recieved call from Anmol Bishnoi.
The prosecution on the other hand had claimed that, Gupta was actively involved in crime along with other arrested and absconding accused. The prosecution further highlighted that Gupta purchased a motorcycle, used in the crime, at the behest of absconding accused-Lawrence Bishnoi and his brother Anmol
Also, public prosecutor Wajid Shaikh had contended that a day before the attack, Gupta had spoken to few witnesses and shared his plan about the attack on Khan's house. Thus, the prosecution said, he was very much aware about everything and participated in the act.
According to the prosecution’s case two motorcycle-borne men fired five rounds outside Khan's Galaxy Apartment in Bandra in the early hours of April 14. The attack is said to be carried out by Bishnoi gang to gain supremacy. During the probe, the man who opened fire was identified as Vicky Kumar Gupta. The Mumbai crime branch has so far arrested six persons – Gupta, Sagarkumar Pal, Sonu Kumar Bishnoi, Anujkumar Thapan, Mohd Rafiq Choudhary and Harpal Singh. Thapan however died by suicide hence the case against him has been abated.
