The kin of Anuj Thapan, who perished whilst under police custody subsequent to his apprehension in connection with the incident of gunfire outside the residence of Bollywood luminary Salman Khan on April 14, have lodged a plea in the Bombay High Court seeking a CBI probe into his demise. Despite assertions by law enforcement suggesting Thapan’s demise as a self-inflicted act within the confines of the detention center, his maternal figure Rita Devi, in a filing submitted in the High Court on Friday, alleged malevolent conduct and purported his homicide.
Devi beseeched the High Court to direct the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to undertake an inquiry into her offspring’s passing in a plea slated for adjudication in due course. The petition posited that Thapan endured physical assault and torment at the hands of the police whilst incarcerated. It further implored the high court to mandate the surrender of surveillance footage from both the police precinct and the holding area where Thapan was confined.
The petitioner pressed for the preservation of telephonic records of law enforcement personnel involved in probing the gunfire episode spanning from April 24 to May 2. Additionally, it entreated for a fresh autopsy in the aftermath of Thapan’s demise. For those unfamiliar with the case, four individuals were apprehended in connection with the gunfire incident: arms purveyors Thapan and Sonu Bishnoi, as well as purported assailants Sagar Pal and Vicky Gupta, whilst Lawrence Bishnoi and his sibling Anmol Bishnoi remained at large as per police records.
Thapan, accused of furnishing firearms and ammunition for the shooting episode, was apprehended on April 26 in Punjab alongside Sonu Bishnoi. Subsequently, on April 29, law enforcement presented all four suspects, inclusive of Thapan, before a specialized tribunal, which remanded them into police custody until May 8. Thapan was discovered deceased within the lavatory facilities of the crime branch detention area within the commissionerate edifice at Crawford Market on May 1.