Salman Khan gets new threat, Rs 5 cr demand; suspect tracked down in Karnataka
Mumbai, Nov 5: Bollywood superstar Salman Khan has received a fresh threat along with a demand of Rs 5 crore from a person claiming to be the brother of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, police officials said on Tuesday.
A suspect was tracked down at Hubballi in Karnataka and a police team has reached there though no arrest has been made yet, they said.
The threat message, which also asked Khan to apologise apparently over the 1998 blackbuck poaching incident, was received on the WhatsApp helpline of the Mumbai traffic police control room located in Worli late Monday night, an official said.
The message sender claimed he is the brother of Lawrence Bishnoi, he said.
"If Salman Khan wants to stay alive, he should go to our (Bishnoi community) temple and apologise or pay Rs 5 crore. If he does not do so, we will kill him; our gang is still active," the message said.
A case was registered at Worli Police Station, and Khan's security was also beefed up, the official said.
Worli Police tracked the sender of the message to Hubballi. A team was sent to the southern state which zeroed in on a 35-year-old man, a welder by profession, he said.
The man is suspected to have sent the threat message, and the police team was questioning him though he has not been detained or arrested yet, the official added.
Salman Khan has received similar threats earlier. On October 29, a man sent a threat message to the same traffic police helpline, threatening to kill Khan and city NCP leader Zeeshan Siddique if they failed to pay Rs 2 crore.
The sender warned that the two will meet the same fate as former state minister Baba Siddique, Zeeshan's father. Baba Siddique was shot dead by three gunmen in Bandra area of Mumbai on October 12.
On October 30, a resident of Bandra (West), an upscale area where Khan also lives, was arrested in connection with the threat.
Earlier in October, the helpline desk had received a threat message demanding Rs 5 crore from the actor. The police subsequently arrested a man from Jamshedpur in Jharkhand.
City police also arrested a man from Noida in Uttar Pradesh for allegedly issuing a death threat to Khan and Zeeshan Siddique.
Notably, Khan had earlier received death threats from the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. While Bishnoi himself is lodged in Ahmedabad's Sabarmati jail in cases including attempted murder and extortion, suspected members of his gang opened fire outside the actor's Bandra home in April.
Weeks after that, Navi Mumbai Police claimed to have uncovered a plot by the Bishnoi gang to kill Khan while on his way to his farmhouse at Panvel near Mumbai.
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Gujarat HC orders man to deposit Rs 1 lakh for attending virtual proceedings from toilet
Ahmedabad, July 14 (PTI): The Gujarat High Court on Monday directed a man, facing contempt of court for attending a virtual court hearing while relieving himself on a toilet seat, to deposit Rs 1 lakh with the court's registry after observing that he was ready to tender an unconditional apology.
The incident occurred on June 20 when Justice Nirzar S Desai was hearing a case. A video of the man soon went viral, prompting the high court to initiate suo motu contempt proceedings.
On Monday, the division bench of Justices AS Supehia and RT Vachhani directed the man, identified as Samad Abdul Rehman Shah, to deposit Rs 1 lakh in the court registry by July 22, the next date of the hearing.
"The contemnor has admitted to his conduct during the live-streaming proceedings and submitted that he was ready to tender an unconditional apology. Thus, at this stage, we direct the contemnor to deposit the amount of Rs 1 lakh before the registry of this court by the next date of hearing," the court ordered.
According to the report submitted to the court, Shah attended the hearing on June 20 for a total of 74 minutes, during which he was seen sitting on a toilet and relieving himself.
Shah's lawyer told the court that his client would tender an unconditional apology for his behaviour.
When questioned, the lawyer confirmed he had advised Shah to present himself appropriately for the hearing.
The now-infamous video showed Shah using a toilet during the proceedings, sparking outrage and leading the court to order the video’s immediate removal and ban, citing damage to the judiciary’s image.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the Gujarat High Court has permitted lawyers and litigants to join hearings virtually. Proceedings are live-streamed via the court's YouTube channel.
After finishing his business, Shah was seen picking up his phone and leaving. Justice Desai appeared unaware of his surroundings at the time.
Wearing wireless earphones, he can be seen logging in again later in the livestream, sitting in a room and waiting for his turn.
After nearly 10 minutes, he identified himself as Abdul Samad Shah, a resident of Kim village in Surat and the complainant in an assault case.
His lawyers told the court that Shah had lodged a complaint against two individuals but that a compromise had been reached between both parties.
While hearing the petition filed by the accused seeking to quash the FIR, Justice Desai asked Shah if he consented to the plea. Upon hearing Shah’s no-objection, the judge approved the petition.
