The Bombay High Court on Friday granted bail to two individuals, Gaurav Bhatia alias Sandeep Bishnoi and Waspi Mehmud Khan, who were arrested last year for their alleged involvement in a plot to assassinate Bollywood actor Salman Khan. Justice N.R. Borkar approved the bail applications, though the detailed order has yet to be released.
Navi Mumbai Police had implicated these men as part of a larger conspiracy orchestrated by the notorious Lawrence Bishnoi gang. According to the police, Bhatia, Khan, and other gang members conducted surveillance on Khan’s farmhouse in Panvel, his Bandra residence, and other locations frequented by the actor for film shootings.
The case escalated when two members of the Bishnoi gang reportedly opened fire outside Khan’s Bandra apartment in April 2024, intensifying the threat level. In total, 18 members of the gang, including gangster Lawrence Bishnoi—who is currently incarcerated in Ahmedabad on separate charges—his brother Anmol (who remains at large), Sampat Nehra, Goldie Brar, and Rohit Godhara, were named in the First Information Report (FIR).
Further investigations revealed a more sinister aspect of the plot, with police alleging that one of the accused was in communication with a contact in Pakistan to procure AK-47 rifles for the attack. The plan reportedly included a rendezvous in Kanyakumari, from where the accused intended to flee to Sri Lanka.
