2 nabbed for 'Lawrence Bishnoi threat' to Salim Khan; claim it was a prank

Mumbai, Sep 19 : The Mumbai Police nabbed a man and woman who allegedly threatened legendary Bollywood screenwriter Salim Khan in the name of notorious gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, official sources said here on Thursday.

The two accused have claimed that it was a 'prank' but they have been taken into custody and further probe is on, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone IX) Raj Tilak Roushan.

While the man was caught late last night, the woman was apprehended on Thursday -- within 24 hours after they accosted 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 for a brief rest 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 lodged 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.

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 told him menacingly, "Lawrence Bishnoi ko bheju kya?" (Should I send Lawrence Bishnoi?), before they took a U-turn and sped off from there.

In a statement, Senior Police Inspector of Bandra Police Station Mahesh Marathe said that the police were scanning the CCTV footage in the vicinity and launched a hunt for the couple.

This was another in the series of threats received by the Khan father-son duo in the past few months, sending shudders in 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, shocking entertainment circles.

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.