Hoax or real? UK student behind threat to Salman Khan

Salman Khan

The Bandra police have initiated the process of bringing in the medical student from the UK, who has been identified as the sender of the email threatening actor Salman Khan in March. The youth, who hails from Haryana, sent the email to one of Khan's friends on behalf of gangster Goldy Brar, said sources. Officers are investigating whether he has any links to Brar, police said, without revealing any more details about the youngster.

The third-year medical student sent the email while partying with friends on March 18 and he likely did it for fun, according to sources.

In the email sent to one of Khan's friends, the student threatened the actor with consequences if he did not have a talk with Goldy Brar in person. "Goldy bhai (Goldy Brar) ko BAAT krni hai tere boss Salman se. Interview (of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi) dekh hi liya hoga usne shayad. nhi dekha ho toh bol diyo dekh lega. Matter close krna hai to BAAT krva dio, face to face krna ho vo bta dio. Abi time rehte inform krdiya hai agli baar jhatka hi dekhne ko milega [sic]," his email reads.

Traced to London

The Bandra police investigated the case based on the email and found that the email ID was associated with a location in London. They verified the information and identified the sender following a two-month-long investigation.

Salman Khan; (right) Police beef up security outside Salman Khan's residence in Bandra, on March 27. Pic/Sameer Markande

The police shared the information with their British counterparts through mutual legal assistance treaty (MLAT) to get the Haryana resident back to India.

The officers have issued a look out circular (LOC), but have refused to divulge further details of his identity, stating that the legal process to get him back to India is still ongoing.

Also Read: Salman Khan gets another death threat, 'Roki Bhai' from Jodhpur wants to kill actor on April 30

"For now, we can only confirm that we have identified him. We don't know if he is associated with the gangster [Goldy Brar] or not. This has to be verified once we get him back to India. But prima facie, it appears that he does not have any criminal records in India," an officer said.

Threats to actor

Salman has been on the radar of the Lawrence Bishnoi's gang since the blackbuck case, and he has received multiple threats. The police beefed up his security after Lawrence Bishnoi issued a fresh threat from inside the prison he is lodged at, while giving an interview to a national news channel.

According to the Mumbai police, many high-profile cases, including that of Khan, have been motivated by social media fame, alcohol and a desire for fun. A few days after the email from the medical student, another threat was received in an email and the sender claimed to be a member of the Bishnoi gang. The sender warned that Khan would meet the same fate as Sidhu Moosewala. The police later arrested a person named Dhakad Ram Bishnoi from Rajasthan, but found out that he had no association with the gang and had sent the email for some fame on social media.

In another incident in April, the Mumbai crime branch apprehended a 16-year-old boy who called the police control room on April 30 and threatened to kill Khan. The boy was nabbed after a 10-km chase in Thane. Officers learnt during the probe that the boy had made the call for fun, thinking the police won't be able to trace them.

March 18
Day the student emailed the threat mail

Mar 23
Day another threat was made to the actor