Mumbai police summon Raipur lawyer over death threat to Shah Rukh Khan
Mumbai/Raipur, Nov 7: The Mumbai police have registered an extortion case and summoned a lawyer from Chhattisgarh in connection with a death threat to Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan and a demand for Rs 50 lakh, officials said on Thursday.
The lawyer from Raipur has been summoned as the threat call was made from a phone number registered in his name, a senior police official from the Chhattisgarh capital said. The lawyer told the police that he lost his phone last week and had filed a police complaint, the official said.
The threat to Shah Rukh Khan follows a series of threats issued to fellow actor Salman Khan, allegedly from the Lawrence Bishnoi gang.
“The Bandra police station received a call threatening Shah Rukh Khan and asking for Rs 50 lakh. An offence has been registered. No arrest has been made yet,” a senior Mumbai police official said.
A case has been registered by the Bandra police under sections 308(4) (extortion involving threats of death or serious injury) and 351(3)(4) (criminal intimidation) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against the caller who threatened Shah Rukh Khan, the official said.
Police teams have been dispatched to various places for further investigation, he said.
While there was no confirmation from Mumbai police on reports that the call was made from Chhattisgarh, a Raipur police official said their counterparts from the Maharashtra capital on Thursday served a notice to a man from the city in connection with it.
As part of their investigation into the threat to Shah Rukh Khan, Mumbai police visited Raipur and summoned a lawyer, identified as Faizan Khan, who lives within the limits of Pandri police station here, Raipur Senior Superintendent of Police Santosh Singh told PTI.
Police had earlier identified the man as Faiyaz Khan.
As per preliminary information, the threat call to the actor was made from a phone number registered in the name of Faizan, he said.
Faizan has been asked to appear for questioning at Bandra police station, Singh said.
A Mumbai police team arrived at Pandri police station in the morning and informed the officials about the case following which Faizan was called for questioning, City Superintendent of Police (CSP- Civil Lines) Ajay Kumar told PTI.
Faizan told the cops that he had lost his phone last week and lodged a complaint at Khamardih police station here, he said. Mumbai police have served a notice to Faizan and summoned him for further questioning, the official added.
Later, talking to reporters in Raipur, Faizan claimed that his phone was stolen and termed the threat call made from his number a conspiracy against him.
“My phone was stolen on November 2 and I lodged a complaint. I told Mumbai police about it. They interrogated me for about two hours,” he said.
He, however, said he had earlier complained to Mumbai police against Shah Rukh Khan over a dialogue in his movie ‘Anjaam’ (1994) referring to deer hunting.
“I hail from Rajasthan. The Bishnoi community (which is from Rajasthan) is my friend. It is in their religion to protect deer. So, if a Muslim says something like this about deer, it is condemnable. Therefore, I raised an objection,” he said.
Faizan added, “Whoever has made a call from my phone, it seems intentional. I think it is a conspiracy against me.”
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Rupee falls 1 paisa to fresh all-time low of 84.32 against US dollar
Mumbai, Nov 7: The rupee slipped 1 paisa to close at a fresh lifetime low of 84.32 against the US dollar on Thursday, as weak domestic equities and sustained foreign fund outflows dented market sentiment.
Forex traders said investors were also cautious ahead of the US Fed meeting outcome. Moreover, overnight gains in crude oil prices also weighed on the local unit.
However, a correction in the dollar index against major currencies helped the rupee and restrained the slide, they added.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 84.26 against the US dollar. During the session, the local currency touched a high of 84.26 and a low of 84.38. It finally settled at 84.32, a loss of just 1 paisa against its previous close.
On Wednesday, the rupee depreciated 22 paise to close at an all-time low of 84.31 against the US dollar.
The rupee touched fresh record lows again on the back of weak domestic equities and sustained FII outflows. However, the softening of the US Dollar index from Wednesday's highs cushioned the downside, forex traders said.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.22 per cent lower at 104.86.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.32 per cent to USD 74.68 per barrel in futures trade.
"We expect the rupee to trade with a negative bias on overall strength in the US Dollar on the back of Donald Trump’s victory in the US Presidential elections and FII outflows. However, softening of commodity prices amid easing geopolitical risk premium may support the rupee at lower levels," said Anuj Choudhary – Research Analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas.
Any intervention by the RBI may also support the rupee at lower levels. Traders may take cues from weekly unemployment claims data from the US and FOMC meeting decisions. The Bank of England's monetary policy decision is also due.
"With Asian currencies down, US Dollar up, and yields up, the RBI does not have any option but to allow the rupee to fall to ensure that REER remains competitive for our exports.
"If the FOMC is a bit hawkish in its tone or does not cut rates today or says it will not cut in December, then we could see another fall in rupee to the extent of 84.50," Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director, Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP, said.
BoE and FOMC are expected to cut interest rates by 25 bps. USD/INR spot price is expected to trade in a range of 84.15 to 84.60, Choudhary said.
In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex fell 836.34 points, or 1.04 per cent, to close at 79,541.79 points, while Nifty declined 284.70 points, or 1.16 per cent, to settle at 24,199.35 points.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Thursday, as they offloaded shares worth Rs 4,888.77 crore, according to exchange data.
"Importers need to be covered for any imports to be paid in November and for December should buy any dip near 84. Exporters are likely to book on every uptick of 25 paise after watching the markets," Bhansali said.
