Bollywood star Salman Khan’s personal bodyguard has told a special court in Mumbai that the April 2024 shooting outside the actor’s residence was an “attempt to kill”.The trial of the case began last month, with the bodyguard – also the accuser – deposed as the first witness.Shot outside the Galaxia apartmentsOn 14 April 2024, two motorcycle-borne men opened fire outside Khan’s Bandra residence, Galaxy Apartments.According to PTI, narrating the sequence of events, the bodyguard told the court that he reported for his regular night shift on April 13 at 7 pm. Security around the actor was then tightened due to threats from gangsters. Lawrence Bishnoi.“Around 4 in the morning, we heard sounds like firecrackers. I checked the circuit circuit and saw two people on a bicycle, wearing helmets, shooting towards the building,” he said.He added that the attackers fired four or five shots.“We left immediately”“Therefore, I and the other guards immediately came out from the main gate,” the witness said, adding that the assailants fled towards the ‘I Love Bandra’ point and then went to Mehboob Studios Road.The prosecution, led by special prosecutor Mahesh Mule, also presented CCTV footage in court showing a motorcycle arriving outside the gate, which was identified by witnesses.Salman Khan was in his houseAs the bodyguard clarified, at the time of the incident, Salman Khan was in his bedroom on the first floor.As he confirmed in front of the judge, “the shooting was an attempt to kill the actor”.During cross-examination by defense counsel Viral Babar, the witness confirmed that he was inside the security booth when he first heard the noise. He also said he had no “personal knowledge” of the specific threats made to the actor.Other witnesses and the accusedAnother witness, a police officer, told the court that he was in the lobby during the riots and did not see any shots fired, but later spotted bullet casings at the scene.Police have identified the shooters as Vicky Gupta and Sagar Pal, who allegedly carried out the attack.Investigators also said that Mohammed Rafiq Sardar Chaudhari had conducted a survey of the building two days before, recording a video and sending it to Anmol Bishnoi, the accused and Lawrence Bishnoi’s brother.Gupta and Pal, along with other accused including Sonukumar Bishnoi, Mohd Rafiq Choudhary and Harpal Singh, are in judicial custody. Another accused, Anujkumar Thapan, allegedly committed suicide while in police custody.Jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and his brother Anmol Bishnoi have been named as accused in the case.
