Man who demanded ₹5 cr from Salman Khan tenders apology

The development came as a team from Mumbai police visited his home in Jharkhand, only to find that he had fled

Mumbai: Four days after a man from Jharkhand threatened actor Salman Khan saying if he did not pay ₹5 crore to settle matters with incarcerated gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, he would meet a fate worse than slain NCP leader Baba Siddique, the same man on Monday tendered an apology, claiming he had sent the earlier message by mistake. The development came as a team from Mumbai police visited his home in Jharkhand, only to find that he had fled.

Man who demanded ₹5 cr from Salman Khan tenders apology

“If Salman Khan wants to stay alive and end the enmity with Lawrence Bishnoi, he must pay ₹5 crore. If not, he will meet a fate worse than Baba Siddiqui,” read the message sent by the accused on the Mumbai traffic police’s WhatsApp-based helpline number on October 17.

The Lawrence Bishnoi gang was allegedly behind the firing incident at Khan’s Bandra home in April this year. The incarcerated gangster’s brother Anmol Bishnoi too had claimed responsibility for the attack on Khan’s house after the incident.

After the traffic police received the message on October 17, they informed the Worli police and the Mumbai crime branch, who are investigating cases related to Lawrence Bishnoi. They found that prima facie, the message was not from any gang and traced the sender to Jharkhand. On October 19, a team of police officials from the city visited his address in Jharkhand, but learned that he had fled home after news about his message started circulating on news channels.

On Monday, the traffic police helpline received another message from the same number, claiming the earlier message was sent by mistake. “We have received a message from the same number and this time, the person has apologised and said that the earlier message was sent by mistake,” a police officer confirmed.