Anuj Thapan, accused in Salman Khan house firing case, dies by suicide in jail.

Anuj Thapan, 32, was arrested from Punjab on April 26 and went to a toilet attached to the police lock-up at 11 am, where he took his own life, according to sources. He was one of 10 inmates in the lock-up, which was guarded by four to five policemen. Anuj Thapan and another accused, Sonu Subhash Chander, were allegedly involved in providing the weapons used in a shooting incident outside the ‘Tiger Zinda Hai’ actor’s Mumbai home on April 14.

The reasons behind Anuj Thapan’s suicide are currently under investigation. According to former Maharashtra senior police officer PK Jain, any death in a police lock-up is reported as a murder case. He mentioned that the CID (Criminal Investigation Department) will question all the policemen at the police station.

Mr. Jain highlighted that the police usually ensure that lock-ups are regularly checked for objects that could be used for suicide. He also mentioned that there have been cases of people using items from lock-ups to die by suicide, and that police always have a guard in place to prevent escape and to monitor for suicide attempts. In addition to Anuj Thapan, two other suspects, Vicky Gupta and Sagar Pal, who allegedly fired the shots, are also in police custody.

Both were captured on CCTV leaving the area on a motorcycle on the night of the incident. All four accused individuals have ties, either directly or indirectly, to imprisoned gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, whose criminal activities according to the NIA include kidnapping, murder, extortion for ransom, cross-border smuggling of weapons and narcotics, in-land contraband smuggling, and illegal liquor trade. The Mumbai Crime Branch had previously announced Lawrence Bishnoi and his brother Anmol Bishnoi as the most wanted suspects in the case, after finding strong evidence against them.

Since November 2022, Salman Khan’s security level has been heightened to Y-Plus due to threats from Lawrence Bishnoi and another gangster, Goldy Brar. This has allowed the actor to carry a personal firearm and drive an armored vehicle.