New Rs 2-cr extortion-death threat to Salman Khan, Mumbai cops probe (Ld)

Mumbai, Oct 30 The Worli Police in Mumbai have launched a probe into a fresh extortion-cum-death threat issued to Bollywood megastar Salman Khan, official sources said here on Wednesday.

An anonymous message to the Mumbai Traffic Control Room threatened to kill the superstar if he failed to pay up Rs 2 crore.

Acting swiftly, the Worli Police have registered a case of extortion and death threats against the unknown person and launched a probe.

The latest threat comes barely a couple of days after the Mumbai Police nabbed a 20-year-old youth Mohammed Tayab alias Gufran Khan from NOIDA (Uttar Pradesh) on Monday (October 28), who threatened both Salman Khan and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Zeeshan Siddique.

Gufran Khan is being brought to Mumbai on a transit remand from NOIDA and will be produced before a local court here.

A few days ago, the Mumbai Police nabbed a vegetable vendor Shaikh Hussain Mohsin, 24, of Jamshedpur (Jharkhand) for issuing a Rs 5 crore extortion threat to the star.

The besieged Salman Khan and his father, the legendary Salim Khan, have received multiple death threats in the past couple of years and suspected henchmen of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang opened fire at their home in Galaxy Apartments, Bandra West.

On October 12, the actor’s close friend and veteran politician Baba Ziauddin Siddique of the NCP (father of the present candidate from Bandra East, Zeeshan), was shot dead near his office at the height of Dussehra celebrations.

Not taking chances, the Mumbai Police have deployed additional security in and around the Khan household, enhanced his personal security detail, and augmented the security cover at his residence, office and while stepping out for shootings. The actor recently acquired a licensed gun for self-protection.

So far, the Mumbai Police have arrested around a dozen persons in connection with the series of threats to the actor, besides another 15 accused in the Siddique killing, as the state hurtles towards the Assembly polls on November 20.

Source: IANS