India's Maharashtra state government has said that gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and his gang, who were allegedly behind the recent killing of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala, had sent a threatening letter to Bollywood superstar Salman Khan's father to extort money.
"The reason behind Bishnoi's gang's threatening actor Salman Khan and his father Salim Khan was to create an atmosphere to show their power. The gang was preparing to extort money from big businessmen and Bollywood actors,” Maharashtra Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil told Indian news agency ANI.
“When Moose Wala was murdered, the Bishnoi gang tried to take advantage of it to create a reputation for themselves. Some people were arrested but all facts haven't come to the fore. Police are investigating the matter, it'll take a few more days & then there will be clarity," Patil said.
Maharashtra state's Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil claims that gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and his gang wanted to prove their power in order to extort money by threatening Bollywood star Salman Khan
© Photo : Twitter
While the cops are investigating the matter, the 56-year-old superstar has been provided with security by Maharashtra's Home Department.
So far, Mumbai Police have taken statements and set up 10 teams to probe death threats to Salman Khan and his father, a day after they received the threatening letter.
On 6 June, Mumbai Police said during a press conference that Salim Khan was given an unsigned, handwritten letter by an unknown person on Sunday at around 7.30 a.m. on a bench where he normally rests after jogging at the Bandra Bandstand promenade, a kilometre long walkway along the sea on the western coast of Mumbai.
The letter, written in Hindi, was reportedly addressed to him and his son Salman. It stated that both would meet the same fate as slain singer Siddhu Moose Wala.
Police said the letter carried the initials 'GB' and 'LB' at the end, which they suspect to be for gangsters Goldie Brar and Lawrence Bishnoi respectively.
Meanwhile, Bishnoi, who's being interrogated in response to Sidhu Moose Wala's killing, has also been questioned by the police about the threatening letter addressed to Khan and his father.