Mumbai (PTI): A court here on Thursday remanded a lawyer from Chhattisgarh, arrested over allegations of threatening to kill Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, in police custody till November 18.

The Mumbai police arrested the accused lawyer, Faizan Khan, from Chhattisgarh's capital Raipur on Tuesday.

They brought him here after securing his transit remand from a Chhattisgarh court.

On Thursday, the police produced the accused before a court in Bandra here and sought his remand for seven days for a probe into the matter.

The accused's lawyers Amit Mishra and Sunil Mishra submitted that Faizan Khan's phone was stolen before the alleged incident.

They argued that the threat call made from his communication device was a conspiracy against him as he had earlier complained to the Mumbai police against Shah Rukh Khan over a dialogue in his movie 'Anjaam' (1994) referring to deer hunting.

After hearing both the sides, the court remanded the accused in police custody till November 18.

The Bandra police station received a call on November 5 with a person on the other side threatening to kill Shah Rukh Khan and demanding Rs 50 lakh. The actor's home is located in Bandra.

Subsequently, a case was lodged against the then unidentified caller under sections 308(4) (extortion involving threats of death or serious injury) and 351(3)(4) (criminal intimidation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

The caller was later identified as Faizan Khan and traced to Raipur.

Before his arrest, Faizan Khan had told reporters that his phone was stolen on November 2 and he lodged a complaint in that connection.

On his objection over a scene in Shah Rukh Khan's movie, he had said, "I hail from Rajasthan. The Bishnoi community (whose members mainly reside in 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."

The threat to the 59-year-old superstar follows a series of such phone calls targeting fellow actor Salman Khan, allegedly from the Lawrence Bishnoi gang.

 

Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.



New Delhi, Nov 14: India on Thursday said it will pursue an extradition request with Canada for Arsh Singh Gill alias Arsh Dalla, the de-facto chief of the Khalistan Tiger Force, following his arrest in that country.

Dalla was designated in India as a terrorist in 2023.

In July 2023, India had requested the Canadian government for his provisional arrest.

"In view of the recent arrest, our agencies will be following up on an extradition request," Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.

"Given Arsh Dalla's criminal record in India and his involvement in similar illegal activities in Canada, it is expected that he will be extradited or deported to face justice in India," he added.

Dalla was reportedly arrested by the Canadian Police late last month.

"We have seen media reports circulating since November 10 on the arrest in Canada of proclaimed offender Arsh Singh Gill alias Arsh Dalla, the de-facto chief of the Khalistan Tiger Force," Jaiswal said.

"Canadian print and visual media have widely reported on the arrest. We understand that the Ontario Court has listed the case for hearing," he added.

Jaiswal was replying to media queries regarding the arrest of Dalla.

"Arsh Dalla is a proclaimed offender in over 50 cases of murder, attempt to murder, extortion and terrorist acts, including terror financing. In May 2022, a Red Corner Notice was issued against him," Jaiswal said.

"He was designated in India as an individual terrorist in 2023. In July 2023, the Government of India had requested the Canadian government for his provisional arrest. This was declined," he added.

Jaiswal said India had provided additional information in the case to the Canadian authorities.

"A separate request was also sent to Canada under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) to verify Arsh Dalla's suspected residential address, his financial transactions to India, moveable/immovable properties, details of mobile numbers etc - all of which were provided to Canadian authorities in January 2023," Jaiswal said.

"In December 2023, the Department of Justice of Canada sought additional information on the case. A reply to these queries was sent in March this year," he added.