Mumbai police arrests Jamshedpur vegetable seller for demanding Rs 5cr extortion from Salman Khan

Jamshedpur: In a significant breakthrough, Jamshedpur police in a joint operation with the Mumbai police arrested a vegetable seller from Sakchi for allegedly threatening Bollywood superstar Salman Khan and demanding a ransom of Rs 5 crore in the name of notorious gangster Lawrence Bishnoi.

The police have identified the arrested vegetable seller as Sheikh Hasan, a resident of Mango’s Azad Nagar.

Sheikh Hasan was presented before the court of ACJM Abhishek Prasad in Jamshedpur, as Chief Judicial Magistrate Vishal Gaurav was unavailable. The investigating officer, Inspector Prakash Wadekar, submitted an application seeking a seven-day transit remand to transfer Hasan to Mumbai for further investigation.

Despite the defence’s objections, the court granted a four-day transit remand, allowing Mumbai Police to take Sheikh Hasan into their custody for further investigation.

Mumbai police had launched investigation after the Mumbai Traffic Police received a threatening message on October 18. A case was registered against an unknown individual, leading to a focused probe.

“With the assistance of local law enforcement in Jamshedpur, we successfully tracked down and apprehended the suspect. He will be brought to Mumbai for further interrogation,” Mumbai police spokesperson said.

The message to Mumbai traffic police by the accused read, “Don’t take it lightly; if Salman Khan wants to stay alive and resolve his enmity with Lawrence Bishnoi, he must pay Rs 5 crore. If the money is not given, Salman Khan’s condition will be worse than Baba Siddique’s.”

However, on October 21, the same sender contacted the authorities once again, apologizing for the previous threat and claiming it had been sent by mistake. Despite this, the police took the threat seriously, particularly after the recent murder of NCP leader Baba Siddique, a close associate of Salman Khan.

Salman Khan, who recently returned to hosting Bigg Boss 18, expressed that he was initially hesitant to resume work after Siddique’s tragic death but ultimately decided to fulfil his commitments.

This is not the first time Khan has faced such threats. Earlier this year, suspected members of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang opened fire outside the actor’s Bandra residence. Additionally, a few months ago, Navi Mumbai police uncovered a plot by the Bishnoi gang to assassinate Khan, prompting increased security measures.

Authorities continue to investigate the latest threat, with plans to further question the arrested individual in connection with the case.