Faridabad police have arrested a sharpshooter, who was allegedly planning the murder of Bollywood actor Salman Khan. The accused was arrested along with three others while the police were investigating another murder in the city in Haryana.

The accused, identified as 27-year-old Rahul, reportedly works for the Lawrence Bishnoi gang that operates in Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan. The police seized two pistols from their custody while the men confessed to cases of dacoity, other murders, and attack on police parties. Upon the request of Lawrence Bishnoi, who is currently in jail, Rahul had conducted a recce of Salman Khan's home in Galaxy Apartments in Bandra, Mumbai and stayed in the area for two days. Accused of murdering a Faridabad resident on June 24, the police had arrested Rahul from Uttarakhand on August 15. "During questioning, it has emerged that Rahul had travelled to Mumbai in January to conduct a recce for the murder of Salman Khan. He went to the actor's house in Bandra for the purpose and stayed in the area for two days. Rahul conducted the recce on the directions of Bishnoi and later apprised him of the findings. However, they were unable to take their plan to the next stage because of the coronavirus outbreak," the DCP stated, according to a report by a news agency.

It has been reported that Sampat Nehra, another member of the gang, had conducted a recce to plan Salman Khan's assassination as well, before he was arrested in June 2018. Regarding Rahul, who is apparently a new member of the gang, the DCP mentioned, "Between 2016 and 2018, he was working at the ESIC Hospital in Faridabad on a temporary basis. In 2018, he was arrested by the Crime Branch Badkhal for possession of an illegal weapon. After being released on bail, he joined the Bishnoi gang in August 2019. He would commit different crimes with different accomplices on the directions of Lawrence Bishnoi. In the last six months alone, he committed four murders." The accused was reportedly produced in court following which he has been remanded in judicial custody for further interrogation.