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Salman Khan threat case: Gangster Lawrence Bishnoi blames former associates
A team of Mumbai crime branch interrogated gangster Lawrence Bishnoi in Delhi in connection with the Salman Khan threat letter case.
NEW DELHI: Jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi has denied any role in the letter that threatened Bollywood star Salman Khan and his father and screenplay writer Salim Khan during an interrogation by the Mumbai police crime branch in Delhi on Wednesday, people aware of the matter said. The team will grill him again on Thursday.
The Mumbai crime branch team, which is investigating the Salman Khan threat letter case, arrived in Delhi earlier in the day for interrogation of Bishnoi, who has been on 10 days’ remand to the Delhi police special cell since May 31.
Bishnoi, 30, had been lodged in Tihar Jail since last year when Delhi police filed a case of Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against him and his other gang members. He is also being investigated for the murder of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala, who was shot dead by unidentified criminals in Punjab’s Mansa district on May 29. Two days after Moose Wala’s killing, the Delhi police secured court orders to take Bishnoi out of Tihar jail though they did not mention if they were probing him for the singer’s murder.
During the first day of their interrogation, Bishnoi told the Mumbai police that he or his associates did not have any role in the letter that threatened the father-son duo.
The letter was found on June 6 on a bench in Mumbai’s Bandstand Promenade, where Salman Khan usually sits after his morning walk. It said: “Salim Khan, Salman Khan Bahot Jald Aapka Mooselwala Hoga GB LB (Salim Khan, Salman Khan, very soon you will meet Moosewala’s fate)”
The two initials, LB and GB, were suspected to refer to Bishnoi and his Canada-based associate, Goldy Brar, who claimed responsibility for Moose Wala’s murder on behalf of the Bishnoi gang.
When contacted, a senior official of the Mumbai crime branch team said that Bishnoi underlined that he had been in police custody since May 31 and added that some of his former associates, who are now working with Mumbai-based gangsters, may be involved in getting back at him since they knew that he was in police custody. “According to Bishnoi, due to some financial matters, all those gangsters in Mumbai are now working independently and have no more links with him or his associates,” the official said, requesting anonymity.
“We already have recorded the statements of the father-son duo and also enhanced the security around Salman’s residence in suburban Bandra. We have also taken the statements of two bodyguards of Salim Khan. We have also quizzed Khan’s family about the threat letter,” he said.
Earlier, a senior official of the Delhi police special cell said that Bishnoi’s involvement in the threat letter to Salman Khan did appear a bit far-fetched to them as the gangster was in their custody. “Also, there is no information of a clash of interests between the Bollywood actor and Canada-based Bra,” the officer said, asking not to be named.
Lawrence Bishnoi did plan an attack on Salman Khan in 2018 but a Rajasthan gangster who was assigned the task, Sampat Nehra, was arrested before he got to make his move.
