Salman Khan house firing case: Bombay High Court dismisses foul play allegations in the case of 18 year old accused's custodial death

The 18-year-old Anuj Thapan who was arrested for his connection with the Salman Khan house firing case, was found dead while in police custody. Though his death was ruled as suicide, the family of the deceased took the matter to court and alleged foul play from the police side. The family asked for a CBI probe into the matter. On Friday, the matter was observed in the Bombay High Court, where the judge mentioned there was nothing ‘nothing amiss’ in the death of Anuj Thapar.

For the unversed, Anuj was a suspect in the matter of Salman Khan’s house firing incident, where four rounds were fired outside the ‘Bharat’ fame actor’s Bandra residence, Galaxy Apartment on April 14, 2024.

According to an Indian Express rapport, the bench of Justices Revati Mohite-Dere and Prithviraj K Chavan mentioned that there was no “plausible explanation" to suggest foul play of police to harm Anuj Thapan. The court asked Thapan’s mother, Rita Devi’s lawyer to review the inquiry report and respond next month.

According to the inquiry, CCTV footage from May 1 showed the 18-year-old using the police lock-up facility alone, where he was later found dead. Anuj’s mother suspected foul play since it was a death in the custody.


The court, however, questioned the rationale behind the allegations. “Why, according to you, was the police trying to kill someone who is not even the main accused? An 18-year-old boy. He went to the bathroom alone… He is not even a shooter. What would the police achieve by killing him? We understand the mother’s emotions, but we also have to see the circumstances."

The lawyer argued that the deceased was a physically healthy man, to which he was told, “Physical strength has nothing to do with mental strength. Who knows what circumstances led him to hang himself? None can vouch for anyone. It is a fraction of a moment in which it happens… There could be many reasons. He was poor. He might have thought of lawyer’s expenses… he was coming from outside Maharashtra."




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