Shooter Claims Inspiration from Gangster for Salman Khan Incident

The shooter outside Salman Khan's Mumbai home claimed inspiration from gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, seeking bail on financial debt grounds. Vickykumar Gupta contended Bishnoi's innocence in the incident aimed to scare Khan for his alleged blackbuck killings. The court sought prosecution response, scheduling arguments for August 13.

One of the shooters responsible for firing outside Bollywood superstar Salman Khan's Mumbai residence in April has claimed he was inspired by the principles followed by imprisoned gangster Lawrence Bishnoi. On Monday, he sought bail, citing financial debt as a motive for his actions.

The accused, Vickykumar Gupta, declared that Bishnoi has been wrongly implicated by the Mumbai police. Gupta said the shooting intended to merely scare Khan, 58, over his alleged act of killing two blackbucks 26 years ago.

According to a police chargesheet filed in court last month, Lawrence Bishnoi, his brother Anmol Bishnoi, and key gang member Rohit Godhara were marked as 'wanted accused' in the case. Gupta and another individual, Sagar Pal, had fired outside Khan's Galaxy Apartment in Bandra on April 14, fleeing the scene before being arrested in Gujarat.

On Monday, Gupta's lawyers submitted a bail application under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA Act). Special Judge BD Shelke requested a response from the prosecution and adjourned the matter to August 13 for arguments.

The bail plea mentions that Gupta, coming from a poor background in a remote Bihar village, was influenced by Lawrence Bishnoi's portrayal in various media. Gupta argued that the shooting episode aimed to invoke fear in Khan regarding the 1998 blackbuck killing, for which Khan was convicted but later acquitted.

(With inputs from agencies.)