The family of Anuj Thapan, who died while in police custody following his arrest in the case related to firing outside Bollywood superstar Salman Khan’s house, has approached the Bombay High Court seeking a CBI probe into his death.
Suicide?
While the police assert that Thapan took his own life in the lock-up, his mother Rita Devi, in her petition filed in the High Court on Friday, alleged foul play and claimed he was murdered.
In the plea, scheduled for hearing in due course, Devi requested the court to direct the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to investigate her son’s death. The petition claimed that Thapan was physically assaulted and tortured by police while in custody. It also requested the high court to instruct the police to provide CCTV footage of the police station and the lock-up where Thapan was detained.
The petitioner further asked for the preservation of call data records (CDR) of police officials involved in probing the firing incident, from April 24 to May 2. Additionally, it sought directions for a fresh post-mortem examination in Thapan’s case.
Lawrence Bishnoi
Four individuals – Thapan, Sonu Bishnoi, alleged shooters Sagar Pal and Vicky Gupta – were arrested in connection with the firing incident, while gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and his brother Anmol Bishnoi have been listed as wanted accused, as per police reports. Thapan, accused of supplying firearms and bullets for the firing incident, was apprehended on April 26 from Punjab along with Sonu Bishnoi and was remanded to police custody until April 30.
Meanwhile, the police applied provisions of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crimes Act (MCOCA) in the case. On April 29, the police presented all four accused, including Thapan, before a special court which remanded them to police custody until May 8. Thapan was discovered dead in the toilet of the lock-up of the crime branch in the commissionerate complex at Crawford Market on May 1.
On April 14, two motorcycle-borne individuals opened fire outside Salman Khan’s residence in the Bandra area of Mumbai.
