In April, one of the individuals involved in a shooting outside Bollywood actor Salman Khan's residence in Mumbai claimed to be motivated by the principles of imprisoned gangster Lawrence Bishnoi. Vickykumar Gupta, the accused, is now requesting bail, asserting that his financial difficulties pushed him to commit the alleged offense. He contends that Lawrence Bishnoi has been wrongfully implicated in the case, insisting that Bishnoi had no involvement in the incident as suggested by the Mumbai police.
According to Gupta, the aim of the shooting was solely to intimidate Khan regarding his purported involvement in the killing of two blackbucks 26 years ago. The police chargesheet, which was submitted last month, listed Lawrence Bishnoi, his brother Anmol Bishnoi, and key gang member Rohit Godhara as 'wanted' in the case.
On April 14, two men on a motorcycle—Gupta and Sagar Pal—opened fire outside Khan’s Galaxy Apartment in Bandra and then escaped. They were later apprehended in Gujarat. The police have attributed the shooting to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang.
Gupta, represented by lawyers Amit Mishra, Sunil Mishra, and Pankaj Ghildiyal, filed a bail petition on Monday before a special court established under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). Special Judge BD Shelke has requested a response from the prosecution and postponed the hearing until August 13.
In his bail application, Gupta claimed that his actions were inspired by the character of Lawrence Bishnoi as portrayed in various media and that he was deeply influenced by Bishnoi's principles. Gupta, who hails from a poor village in Bihar, stated that his financial troubles led him to commit the crime.
The plea also argued that the shooting was intended only to cause fear for Khan’s alleged past offense of killing blackbucks, a species revered by the Bishnoi community. While Khan was convicted in this case by a Rajasthan court, later by the High Court, he was acquitted.
Elaborating further on the point, Gupta said that Bishnoi's part was ruled out in their firing and he stated that he has neither got any communication from Bishnoi nor was he encouraged by the intermediaries to do the work on the statement that the gangster was pleading for. The bail plea came down heavily on the prosecution for roping Bishnoi into the case without justification.
Having spent more than three months behind bars, Gupta is seeking bail on the ground that he is not a threat to the safety of people.
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