Salman Khan was earlier on Bishnoi’s radar after the infamous blackbuck poaching case during the shoot of Hum Saath Saath Hain. Bishnoi had in 2011 planned an attack on Salman and in 2018 also threatened to kill the actor
Salim Khan and Salman Khan. News18
Bollywood actor Salman Khan’s security has been upgraded by the Maharashtra government a day after he and his father Salim received an anonymous threat, according to several media reports.
Let’s take a closer look at the threat against Salman and the possible connection to another suspect in a high-profile murder.
What happened?
An unsigned letter issuing threats to Salman and his father Salim was found near the Bandra Bandstand promenade in Mumbai on Sunday.
The letter was found by Salim Khan’s security staff on a bench.
“Salim Khan follows a morning routine where he goes for a walk on the promenade accompanied by his security personnel. There’s a location where he typically takes a break. A chit had been left behind on a bench,” The Times of India quoted a police official as saying.
What did the letter say?
According to police, the chit contained dire threats for both Salim and Salman.
“Moosa Wala jaisa kar dunga,” the chit said, as per The Times of India.
That was a reference to Punjabi singer and Congress leader Sidhu Moose Wala, who was shot dead by unidentified assailants in Jawaharke village in Mansa district of Punjab on 29 May. The incident came a day after the Punjab government curtailed his security cover.
As per NDTV, the letter was initialled G.B and L.B.
This could be a reference to Goldy Brar and Lawrence Bishnoi – the former is a Canada-based gangster who reportedly claimed responsibility for the murder of the Punjabi singer in a Facebook post and the latter being gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, a suspect in the case who is currently in special cell custody.
Bishnoi has told investigators that his gang’s members, including Canada-based Goldy Brar, hatched a conspiracy and killed Moose Wala.
However, it is not yet known whether Bishnoi and Brar are behind the letter or if someone is using their names to do mischief, NDTV reported.
Salman was earlier on Bishnoi’s radar after the infamous blackbuck poaching case during the shoot of ‘Hum Saath Saath Hain’. Bishnoi community considers black buck to be a sacred animal and Salman’s involvement in poaching had hurt the community’s sentiments.
As per NDTV, Bishnoi had apparently planned an attack on Salman during the shooting of his 2011 movie ‘Ready’, but it failed due to an issue over weapons.
Gangster Naresh Shetty was then given the task of attacking the actor, as per the report.
Bishnoi had in 2018 also threatened to kill Salman.
Rahul alias Sunni, one of Bishnoi’s close associates arrested in 2020 for murder, said that they had hatched a plan to kill Salman and had even visited Mumbai to conduct a recce for the murder.
What are police doing?
Bandra Police has filed an FIR against an unknown person and further probe is underway, Mumbai Police said.
As per Hindustan Times, police are checking the CCTV footage in the Bandstand area.
Salman will be next seen in ‘Tiger 3’ along with Katrina Kaif. He has also been working on ‘Kabhi Eid Kabhi Diwali’.
With inputs from agencies