Mumbai Police on Wednesday arrested a 56-year-old man for allegedly issuing a death threat to Bollywood superstar Salman Khan and Maharashtra NCP leader Zeeshan Siddique.
The accused, identified Azam Mohammed Mustafa, sent the threat message on the traffic police's WhatsApp helpline number, saying the duo will be killed if they fail to pay him Rs 2 crore.
He allegedly warned that both Salman and Zeeshan will face the same fate of former state minister Baba Siddique and that his message should not be treated as a joke. Baba Siddique, father of Zeeshan, was shot dead by three gunmen on October 12.
According to police, Mustafa is a resident of Blue Fame Apartment in Bandra (West), an upscale area where Khan also resides. He was arrested after Worli police registered a case and launched an investigation.
During their probe, police recovered the mobile phone and SIM card allegedly used in the crime and also collected the Call Detail Record (CDR). The accused was taken into custody from Bandra.
According to police, Mustafa in his message said: “Ye ek mazak nahi hai Baba Siddique ko kaise khatam kiya agla nishana Zeeshan Siddiqui hai aur Salman Khan ko bhi same tarah goli mar di jaegi. Salman Khan aur Zeeshan Siddiqui ko 2 cr rupee dene bolo agar jaan bachana hai toh usko mazak mein mat lena ya koi joke 31 October ke din pata chaljayega. Warning to Zeeshan Siddiqui and Salman Khan” (Salman Khan and Zeeshan Siddiqui will meet the same fate as Baba Siddiqui if they fail to pay up Rs 2 crore. This threat should not be treated as a joke or taken lightly).
On Monday, Mumbai Police had arrested a 20-year-old man from Noida for allegedly issuing death threats to Salman and Zeeshan. The accused, Mohammad Tayyab, issued the threats via a phone call to the public relations office of Zeeshan, who is a member of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, representing Bandra East.
Tayyab is a resident of Delhi. Police, however, couldn’t find any gang affiliations with him so far.
Earlier this month, a 24-year-old vegetable seller from Jamshedpur in Jharkhand was arrested for sending a threat message demanding Rs 5 crore from the actor. The accused was identified as Shaikh Hussain Shaikh Mausin who allegedly threatened that Salman’s “condition will be worse than Baba Siddique” if he did not fulfil the demand.
Mumbai Police has already beefed up the security of the actor since the firing incident outside his Bandra residence on April 14. The accused, Vicky Gupta, claimed he had no intention to harm the actor and that he was influenced by Lawrence Bishnoi’s character on social media.
The actor is already facing life threats from the Bishnoi gang who has claimed responsibility for Baba Siddique’s murder.
