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Synopsis

Mother of Anuj Thapan, one of the accused individuals embroiled in the Salman Khan house firing case has moved the Bombay High Court. Thapan, alongside a co-accused, had faced apprehension in connection with the aforementioned incident, but tragically, he met his demise due to a suicide attempt while under police custody.

Advocates Sriram Parakkat and Rajwant Kaur, representing the grieving mother, submitted that Thapan was employed as a helper with a truck driver and had been absent from home for several days prior to his arrest.

The mother, one day, received a distressing call from Mumbai, apprising her of her son's detention by the Mumbai Crime Branch. During the conversation, she heard her son's desperate plea for assistance before the connection abruptly terminated, rendering her unable to reestablish contact.

Subsequent investigations and media reports disclosed that her son had been unjustly implicated under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code, the Arms Act, and the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), 1999. The devastating news of his demise on May 1, 2024, while in police custody, further compounded the mother’s anguish.

Anuj Thapan's demise occurred as a result of hanging himself with a sheet while under police surveillance. Despite concerted efforts to revive him, he succumbed to his injuries, leaving behind a plethora of unresolved queries.

Thapan's alleged involvement in the case revolved around accusations of supplying firearms to the perpetrators involved in the shooting incident at Salman Khan's residence. The shooters, identified as Vicky Gupta and Sagar Pal, were apprehended in Bhuj, Gujarat, subsequent to the shooting outside the actor's Mumbai residence in Bandra.

The Mumbai Police had invoked sections of MCOCA against all arrested individuals, pinpointing gangster Lawrence Bishnoi as the mastermind behind the operation. In response to threats from Bishnoi and Goldy Brar, Salman Khan's security status was elevated to Y-Plus in 2022, with authorization granted for personal firearm possession and the procurement of an armored vehicle.

Case Title: Rita Devi v The State Of Maharashtra & Anr.