Mumbai: The Mumbai Police arrested a man and a woman who allegedly threatened renowned Bollywood screenwriter Salim Khan in the name of notorious gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, according to official sources here on Thursday.
According to Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone IX) Raj Tilak Roushan, the two accused claimed it was a ‘prank’ but have since been arrested, and an investigation is ongoing.
While the man was taken into custody late last night, the woman was apprehended on Thursday, just 24 hours after they confronted Khan, and threatened him, saying, “Should we send Lawrence Bishnoi to you?”
At that time, Khan—the father of Bollywood megastar Salman Khan—was on his regular morning walk at the Bandra Bandstand but had halted briefly near his home, Galaxy Apartments, in Bandra West.
Roushan said that the two accused were questioned thoroughly, and the police found that they had played mischief for fun, with no other angle to the incident.
Earlier on Thursday, Bollywood went into a tizzy after the Bandra Police issued a statement on the incident following a complaint by Khan’s bodyguard, Deepak Borse, and immediately started the investigation.
This was the second time that Khan — the father of Bollywood mega-star Salim Khan — had been targeted with a death ultimatum in the recent past, and the police took it seriously.
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In the latest instance, a purported threat emanated from a man and woman — who was sporting a ‘burqa’ — speeding on a scooter on Wednesday at around 8.45 a.m.
They approached Khan on the scooter and menacingly asked, “Lawrence Bishnoi ko bhehu kya?” (Should I send Lawrence Bishnoi?) before they took a U-turn and sped off.
In a statement, Senior Police Inspector of Bandra Police Station Mahesh Marathe said the police were scanning the CCTV footage in the vicinity and launched a hunt for the couple.
This was another threat in the series received by the Khan father-son duo in the past few months, which is sending shudders through Bollywood circles.
It may be recalled that at dawn on April 14 this year, two unidentified persons on a motorcycle had opened indiscriminate fire at the Khans’ residence in Galaxy Apartment, though there were no injuries.
Later that day, the Bishnoi gang openly claimed responsibility for the attack and also termed it the ‘first and last warning’ to the Khan family, a statement that sent shockwaves through entertainment circles as it indicated a serious threat to the family.
The two accused — Vicky Gupta, 24, and Sagar Pal, 23 — were arrested from Bhuj town in Kachchh district of Gujarat, barely 325 km away from the India-Pakistan border. They are believed to be acquaintances of the Bishnoi gang and are currently being interrogated to uncover their motives.
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–IANS
