Now Reading: Mumbai Police arrest man for faking gang threats to extort Salman Khan
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Mumbai Police arrest man for faking gang threats to extort Salman Khan
Mumbai Police have arrested a man accused of fabricating death threats to extort money from Bollywood star Salman Khan. Investigators say the suspect created fake WhatsApp chats and identities to make the…
Mumbai Police have arrested a man accused of fabricating death threats to extort money from Bollywood star Salman Khan. Investigators say the suspect created fake WhatsApp chats and identities to make the threats appear to come from an organised crime gang, but inconsistencies in the messages led police to suspect a hoax.
CCTV footage did not match the accused's claims, and he reportedly admitted during questioning that the threats were fabricated. Police recovered two mobile phones hidden near Bandra seafront and seized screenshots of the fake conversations.
The accused allegedly received Rs 1.30 lakh via PhonePe from Siwan, Bihar, and collected the cash through a Bandra agent. He has been booked under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the IT Act. Police are investigating whether he acted alone.
Indian Opinion Analysis
Salman Khan has lived under heightened security since 2018, when the Lawrence Bishnoi gang openly threatened him over the blackbuck poaching case. The Bishnoi outfit has a record of carrying out high-profile hits, most recently the June 2024 murder of politician Baba Siddique, which was linked to the same gang. Any threat mentioning the Bishnoi name therefore triggers an immediate police response. The accused appears to have banked on that notoriety to make his fabricated messages believable. The key unknown is whether the Rs 1.30 lakh trail leads to a wider network. Police are now examining phone records and digital payment logs to check for co-conspirators. The court will decide on the accused's custody at the next remand hearing.
Source: m9.news
This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
