Mumbai: Bollywood actor Salman Khan has told the police that he believes the Lawrence Bishnoi gang fired at his residence in April this year with the aim of killing him and his family members.

The actor’s statement is part of the chargesheet filed by the Mumbai police in a court here in connection with the incident. Khan told the police that on the morning of April 14, while he was sleeping in his house at Galaxy Apartments, he heard a sound like a firecracker.

He said his police bodyguard informed him at about 4.55 am that two men on a motorcycle had opened fire on the first-floor balcony.

Khan said that attempts had been made to harm him and his family in the past as well. He said his bodyguard has filed a complaint regarding the firing at the Bandra police station.

The actor later learnt that gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and his brother Anmol Bishnoi had claimed responsibility for the attack in a Facebook post, the statement said.

Lawrence Bishnoi and his gang members had previously also talked about killing Khan and his relatives, the statement said, “Therefore, I believe that Lawrence Bishnoi with the help of his gang members carried out this shootout incident when my family members were sleeping and they were planning to kill me and my family members.”

The actor told the police that he and his family had received several threats in recent years.

He said that in 2022, a threatening letter was found on a bench in front of his building, while in March 2023, he received an email threat from the Lawrence Bishnoi gang.

The actor revealed that in January 2024, two unidentified persons tried to forcibly enter his farmhouse near Panvel using fake identities.

The police had earlier this month filed a 1,735-page chargesheet in the firing case before the Maharashtra Special Court for Control of Organised Crime Act cases.

The court recently took cognizance of the chargesheet, saying prima facie there was sufficient material to proceed against the six arrested accused.

Vicky Kumar Gupta, Sagar Kumar Pal, Sonu Kumar Bishnoi, Anuj Kumar Thapan (now deceased), Mohammad Rafiq Chaudhary and Harpal Singh were arrested in this case.

Thapan allegedly committed suicide in police custody after his arrest. The remaining five are now in judicial custody. Salman Khan’s brother and actor-producer Arbaaz Khan also told the police that he family had received threats in the past and there had been incidents of forced entry into their Panvel farmhouse.

Arbaaz said in his statement, “That is why Salman Khan always asked our family members to be cautious about their safety.” This statement is also a part of the chargesheet.

Arbaaz said he was out of town when the shootout took place on April 14. He said he also believes Lawrence Bishnoi and his gang members carried out the attack to kill his family members.