Gangster Lawrence Bishnoi told the Delhi Police special cell on Sunday that his community won’t forgive Salman Khan for allegedly killing a blackbuck. Blackbucks are considered to be sacred by the Bishnoi community, the special cell said.
HGS Dhaliwal, special commissioner (special cell) said, “During interrogation, he candidly said that since the Bishnois consider the blackbuck to be the reincarnation of their religious guru, Bhagwan Jambeshwar also known as Jambaji, acquittal or punishment from the court will not be the last verdict for him. He also said the actor and his father either tender a public apology in Jambaji temple or the Bishnois will kill them,” Hindustan Times reported.
On 19 August, ANI had quoted DCP Faridabad saying, “Police have arrested sharpshooter Rahul of Lawrence Bishnoi gang. Questioning revealed that he travelled to Mumbai in January to conduct a recce of actor Salman Khan's apartment on Bishnoi's orders due to resentment against Khan over blackbuck poaching.”
In 2018, a trial court had convicted Salman Khan and awarded a five-year prison sentence to him for the killing of two blackbucks during the shoot of the film Hum Saath Saath Hain in 1998.
Bishnoi is said to have made the aforementioned statements during his interrogation in the Sidhu Moose Wala murder case. Salman Khan’s lawyer in the blackbuck poaching case had also reportedly received a death threat letter allegedly at the Bishnoi gang’s orders, a police officer revealed.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (special cell), Pramod Kushwaha, said, “When Sampat Nehra, a key member of Bishnoi gang, was arrested from Bengaluru in June 2018, he too had disclosed about the gang’s plan to eliminate Salman Khan — who was convicted in the blackbuck poaching case and sentenced to five years in jail in 2018.”
Kushwaha added, “Lawrence belongs to the Bishnoi community, for whom blackbucks, a protected species under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, are sacred. Surprisingly, most of the gangsters associated with the core group of Lawrence Bishnoi are fanatically religious.”
Another senior officer, who requested to remain anonymous, said that the police has identified the people who reportedly sent a threat letter to actor Salman Khan and his father Salim Khan, “During the interrogation of Moose Wala murder accused Siddhesh Hiraman Kamble, alias Mahakal, who is a member of the Bishnoi gang, it was revealed that Bishnoi’s aide Vikram Barad had taken the letter to Salim Khan.”
“Bishnoi had issued the letter to the actor and his screenwriter father Salim Khan. Three people from his gang had come from Jalore in Rajasthan to Mumbai to drop the letter and met Mahakal,” the officer added.
In June, ANI had reported that the Mumbai police had recorded statements by Salman and his father in connection to the case and the actor had denied receiving any threat calls, threats from anyone, or having any disputes with anyone recently.
(With inputs from ANI, Hindustan Times)
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