Salman Khan firing case: Gun supplier dies in police custody

Anuj Kumar Thapan, the deceased

Anuj Kumar Thapan, a 23-year-old resident of Punjab who was arrested by the Mumbai Crime Branch in connection with the firing case outside Bollywood actor Salman Khan's residence, was found dead on Wednesday afternoon inside the Crime Branch lockup located at the Mumbai police's headquarters at Crawford Market.

The Azad Maidan police have registered an Accidental Death Report (ADR) in the case, and the state CID is also investigating as the accused died in the Crime Branch's custody.

The Crime Branch stated that since they had invoked MCOCA against the accused, he was depressed, knowing that it would be difficult to obtain bail in the next 10 years.

Undated photo of Anuj Thapan. Pic/PTI

According to the Crime Branch, the incident occurred on Wednesday between 12 noon and 1 pm. The accused went to use the washroom on the first floor of the lockup and allegedly used a rope, suspected to have been torn from a mat inside the lockup. He used a bucket inside the bathroom, tied the rope to the small net windows, and then pushed the bucket.

"There were six accused of different cases inside the lockup and he too was there with them. When he went inside the washroom and didn't return after some time, the other accused of a different case alerted the security guard who went inside the washroom and found him hanging," an officer said.

The officials also stated that they were unsure if the rope used for hanging was from the mat provided to the accused inside the lockup. "The CID is going to investigate how he procured the material that was used for hanging," an officer said.

"We have conducted our investigation, and we didn't find evidence of foul play. As there is CCTV camera surveillance inside the lockup, his medical examination was also carried out according to the regulations before he hanged himself," the officer added.

Thapan was rushed to the GT hospital where he was declared dead. The Crime Branch has informed his family and the post-mortem is likely to be conducted at JJ hospital in camera; the family will be kept in the loop at the time of the post-mortem. Thapan was arrested from Fazilka district of Punjab on April 26 for allegedly providing weapons to the accused who fired five rounds outside Salman's residence on April 14. Thapan's role surfaced during the interrogation of the main accused Vicky Gupta and Sagar Pal. Thapan along with another accused, Sonu Kumar Bishnoi, provided the weapon to Pal and Gupta. According to sources, Thapan was a close associate of Lawrence Bishnoi and had three more cases against him, including another firing one. Before he was apprehended, he was working as a truck driver.

The official said that he was cooperating during the investigation and provided some information about Bishnoi since he was booked under MCOCA. "He knew that procuring bail under MCOCA is very difficult and he was going to spend his life inside the prison. He sounded a little depressed and had discussed it with other inmates as well," said an officer.

Apr 26
Day Thapan was arrested