Questioned

Police will record statements of Gurmeet Singh, his driver and two bodyguards

MUMBAI: The Mumbai police will soon record the statement of Gurmeet Singh, aka Shera, the bodyguard of actor Salman Khan, who allegedly assaulted a 25-year-old man and two of his friends in Andheri (West) on Wednesday, a source told HT on Thursday.

The DN Nagar police will check CCTV footage for more evidence in the case, said an official in the investigating team, who did not wish to be named.

The police, having already recorded the statements of the complainant, 25-year-old Athar Gulam Ansari and his two friends, will now do so with Singh and others connected to the case. They will also seek to determine the identity of a certain ‘Ajay bhai’ to whom Shera reportedly spoke on the phone that Ansari handed him, an official said.

“After getting clarification on all issues, we will decide in the next course of action,” the official added.

Shera, his driver and two bodyguards allegedly assaulted 25-year-old Ansari and his friends Javed and Valentine near Indian Oil Nagar link road at 2am on Wednesday.

The three friends were travelling in an Audi and Ansari was speaking on the phone to a man

identified as ‘Ajay bhai’, police said. On seeing Shera, Ansari allegedly told Ajay bhai about it.

According to Ansari, Ajay bhai then asked him to give the phone to Shera, which Ansari did after getting down from the vehicle, the police said. “Ajay bhai abused Shera and Shera abused him back,” a police official said.

Following this, Shera confronted Ansari and abused him for handing him the phone, according to the Ansari’s complaint.

“This led to a heated argument and a fight,” the officer said, quoting the complaint. “Ansari said Shera pulled out a pistol and repeatedly struck his shoulder with the butt of the

weapon, fracturing his collar bone. Shera’s bodyguard then pulled out a blunt object and hit Ansari with it. Shera’s aides also beat up Javed and Valentine,” he added.

The three friends first went to Cooper Hospital for medical tests before going to DN Nagar police station at 5.20 am to a lodge a complaint.