Firing Outside Salman Khan's House: Bombay High Court Seeks Status Report On Investigation Into Custodial Death Of Accused

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday directed the Mumbai police to file a status report on the investigation initiated into the death of Anuj Thapan, accused in the case relating to firing near actor Salman Khan's house, who had passed away while under police custody.

A vacation bench of Justice Sandeep V. Marne and Justice Neela Kedar Gokhale was dealing with a writ petition filed by Thapan's mother seeking CBI probe into the matter. She has also sought directions for a fresh post mortem of Thapan's body.

Thapan was arrested on April 26 along with three other persons by the crime branch of the Mumbai police for allegedly providing arms to the other accused in connection with the firing outside Khan's house.

He was remanded to police custody till April 30. Meanwhile, the police also invoked provisions under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crimes Act in the case.

On April 29, the police produced the accused including Thapan before the trial court after invoking MCOCA.

The court extended the police custody of three accused including Thapan's till May 8 while the remaining accused were remanded to judicial custody on medical grounds.

On May 1, it was reported that Thapan had died by suicide, after which his mother filed the present petition before the High Court. Thapan's mother Rita Devi, claimed that her son was murdered by the Crime Branch of Mumbai police and that he was brutally assaulted and tortured by the police.

During the hearing, advocate Nishant Rana Rajanj for the petitioner argued that despite the occurrence of a custodial death, the police had failed to register an FIR. He highlighted several points, including the denial of CCTV footage from the police station to the petitioner, the non-provision of the post-mortem results, and the lack of information about the death beyond mere notification.

Further, he pointed out the failure to ascertain whether the rope or cloth used in the alleged suicide had been sent for forensic analysis. He also said that there were procedural lapses, such as unauthorized extension of police custody despite a judicial custody order for other co-accused individuals in the case.

He said that these actions violated the Bombay Police Manual, including Section 67 of the Bombay Police Act, 1951, which mandates the proper care and well-being of prisoners.

The petitioner sought that an FIR be immediately registered and the entire investigation be transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Public Prosecutor Prajakta Shinde informed the court that the investigations had already been transferred to the State-CID (Criminal Investigation Department). She further stated that a Magisterial Enquiry had also been initiated, but she was unaware of its current status.

When asked about the registration of an FIR, she explained that an Accidental Death Report (ADR) had been registered, and the matter was being investigated based on the ADR.

The court directed her to file a status report on the next date of hearing and listed the petition for further consideration on May 22, 2024. In the meantime, the court ordered the preservation of CCTV footages and Call Detail Records (CDR) from the concerned police stations and police officers.

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