Salman Khan to Munawar Faruqui: Here’s who else is on Lawrence Bishnoi’s hit list
Mumbai: The murder of former Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Baba Siddique has sent shockwaves through Bollywood, with authorities investigating the possible involvement of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. Known for its violent history, the gang had previously issued threats to several high-profile individuals, including Bollywood superstar Salman Khan.
Siddique, who had close ties with Bollywood stars such as Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, and Sanjay Dutt, was allegedly murdered by members of the Bishnoi gang. Investigations are ongoing, with the gang reportedly claiming responsibility for the assassination.
The Lawrence Bishnoi gang has targeted several other celebrities in the past. Salman Khan, who was threatened in connection to the 1998 blackbuck poaching case, remains a prime target. Earlier this year, gunshots were fired outside his residence in Bandra, though no injuries were reported.
Comedian Munawar Faruqui, known for winning Bigg Boss 17, is also on the hit list. Intelligence agencies recently foiled an alleged attempt on his life during an event in Delhi.
Other notable names include Shaganpreet Singh, manager of slain singer Sidhu Moosewala, and Zeeshan Siddiqui, son of Baba Siddique, both of whom have been threatened by the gang.
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Supreme Court rejects plea for reverting to ballots in elections
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a petition seeking to revert to ballot paper voting in elections in the country.
"What happens is, when you win the election, EVMs (electronic voting machine) are not tampered. When you lose the election, EVMs are tampered (with)," remarked a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and P B Varale.
Apart from ballot paper voting, the plea sought several directions including a directive to the Election Commission to disqualify candidates for a minimum of five years if found guilty of distributing money, liquor or other material inducement to the voters during polls.
When petitioner-in-person K A Paul said he filed the PIL, the bench said, "You have interesting PILs. How do you get these brilliant ideas?".
The petitioner said he is the president of an organisation which has rescued over three lakh orphans and 40 lakh widows.
"Why are you getting into this political arena? Your area of work is very different," the bench retorted.
After Paul revealed he had been to over 150 countries, the bench asked him whether each of the nations had ballot paper voting or used electronic voting.
The petitioner said foreign countries had adopted ballot paper voting and India should follow suit.
"Why you don't want to be different from the rest of the world?" asked the bench.
There was corruption and this year (2024) in June, the Election Commission announced they had seized Rs 9,000 crore, Paul responded.
"But how does that make your relief which you are claiming here relevant?" asked the bench, adding "if you shift back to physical ballot, will there be no corruption?".
Paul claimed CEO and co-founder of Tesla, Elon Musk, stated that EVMs could be tampered with and added TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu, the current chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, and former state chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy had claimed EVMs could be tampered with.
"When Chandrababu Naidu lost, he said EVMs can be tampered with. Now this time, Jagan Mohan Reddy lost, he said EVMs can be tampered with," noted the bench.
When the petitioner said everybody knew money was distributed in elections, the bench remarked, "We never received any money for any elections."
The petitioner said another prayer in his plea was the formulation of a comprehensive framework to regulate the use of money and liquor during election campaigns and ensuring such practices were prohibited and punishable under the law.
The plea further sought a direction to mandate an extensive voter education campaign to raise awareness and importance of informed decision making.
"Today, 32 per cent educated people are not casting their votes. What a tragedy. If democracy will be dying like this and we will not be able to do anything then what will happen in the years to come in future," the petitioner said.
