The Bombay High Court granted bail to Waspi Mehmud Khan and Gaurav Vinod Bhatia, accused of a foiled plot to kill Salman Khan, citing insufficient evidence. Their only link to the conspiracy was their presence in a WhatsApp group. The court highlighted that this did not prove direct involvement in the alleged plot.
Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Friday granted bail to two men accused of being involved in a foiled plot to kill Bollywood actor Salman Khan near his Panvel farmhouse last year, citing insufficient evidence. The plot was allegedly orchestrated by the gang of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi.
A bench of Justice NR Borkar granted bail to Waspi Mehmud Khan alias Wasim Chikna and Gaurav Vinod Bhatia alias Sandeep Bishnoi, noting that the only evidence against them was their presence in a WhatsApp group where the alleged conspiracy was discussed. The court observed that this alone was not enough to establish their direct involvement.
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The police had arrested a total of seven accused in the case, all of whom were alleged members of the Bishnoi gang. The Mumbai Police uncovered the plot in June 2024 while investigating the April 2024 firing incident outside Salman Khan’s Bandra residence.
During the hearing, defense lawyer Yashwant Chaware argued that the allegations were fabricated for media attention and that his clients were neither members of the Bishnoi gang nor involved in the conspiracy. He also pointed out that another co-accused, Deepak Gogalia alias Johnny Valmiki, had already been granted bail by the Panvel Sessions Court.
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However, Additional Public Prosecutor Geeta Mulekar opposed the bail plea, arguing that the accusations were serious. She presented a photo of Bishnoi with an AK-47 rifle found in the WhatsApp group and stated that forensic experts were still recovering data from the accused’s phones.
Despite these arguments, the Bombay High Court ruled in favor of bail, considering the lack of substantial evidence and the fact that a co-accused had already been released.
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