Bombay HC Grants Bail to Two in Salman Khan Murder Plot, Cites Insufficient Evidence

A Bombay High Court judge on February 6, 2025, ordered the release of two men arrested in connection with an alleged plot to kill Bollywood actor Salman Khan, finding that the evidence against them did not hold up. Gaurav Bhatia, also known as Sandeep Bishnoi, and Waspi Mehmud Khan, also known as Wasim Chikna, had been detained after police accused them of conducting surveillance near Khan's farmhouse in Panvel, his apartment in Bandra, and various film sets throughout 2024. The investigation centered on what authorities described as a conspiracy hatched by members of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, a criminal organization with a documented history of violence.

Justice N R Borkar examined the case file and concluded that the prosecution's case was thin. The only substantive connection between the two men and the alleged plot was their membership in a WhatsApp group where the conspiracy was discussed. Beyond that, the judge found nothing concrete—no weapons recovered, no direct communications showing their involvement, no evidence of their participation in planning or reconnaissance. The court noted that even the messages in the group chat were vague and did not clearly implicate either man in any specific criminal act. The ruling effectively dismantled the state's case against them.

The defense had argued forcefully that the charges were exaggerated, designed primarily to generate headlines rather than to prosecute genuine suspects. Their lawyers pointed out that another accused in the same investigation, Deepak Gogoi, had already been granted bail by a sessions court in 2024, suggesting a pattern of weak prosecutorial footing. They also stressed that neither Bhatia nor Khan had any documented ties to the Bishnoi gang itself, and that nothing in the evidence suggested they had played any role in the alleged murder plot.

The larger investigation, however, paints a darker picture. Police say they have identified eighteen members of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang as part of the conspiracy. In April 2024, two gang members fired shots outside Khan's Bandra apartment in what authorities characterized as an assassination attempt. The FIR named gangster Lawrence Bishnoi himself, currently imprisoned in Ahmedabad, along with his brother Anmol Bishnoi, who remains at large, and associates including Sampat Nehra, Goldie Brar, and Rohit Godhara.

During their investigation, authorities uncovered evidence that one suspect had made contact with someone in Pakistan to arrange the purchase of AK-47 rifles for the attack. The gang, according to police, had devised an escape plan: regroup in Kanyakumari, then flee to Sri Lanka. Several key members were arrested before they could carry out this plan, but the investigation remains active and ongoing.

The bail ruling does not end the case. It simply means that Bhatia and Khan will remain free while the legal process continues. The court's decision underscores a fundamental problem in the prosecution's approach: suspicion and association are not the same as evidence of guilt. For Khan, the threat remains real—the April shooting was not a rumor or an allegation, but a documented event. Yet the judicial system has now determined that these two men cannot be held responsible for it based on what the state has presented.