'Salman Khan's bodyguard Shera threatened me with a gun'

Athar Umar Qureshi, a resident of Vile Parle west, shows his injuries

A 25-year-old man has alleged that Bollywood actor Salman Khan's bodyguard, Gurmeet Singh aka Shera, pointed a gun at him and assaulted him, breaking his collarbone, in an altercation in the early hours of yesterday. Identified as Athar Umar Qureshi, a resident of Vile Parle west, the victim was admitted to Criti Care hospital yesterday for treatment.

Joyride turns sour
The incident happened at 1.50 am, when Qureshi and his friends Valentine and Javed were driving to Juhu in an Audi. They spotted Shera with his two bodyguards and a driver near the Indian Oil Junction in Andheri west. Qureshi's statement read, "Valentine was on a call with Ajay bhai (a friend of Shera's) and he mentioned to the latter about spotting Shera. Ajay told him to go to Shera and hand him the phone."

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The police said that according to the victim, the trio then took a U-turn and stopped the car near Shera's.

Valentine sent Qureshi to Shera with the phone. Qureshi handed it over to Shera who allegedly spoke to Ajay for a while and had a heated argument; a few minutes later, Shera hung up in anger. He then got abusive with Qureshi, who objected to it and asked him to not use such language with him, as he has nothing to do in the differences between Shera and Ajay. Shera then allegedly started beating him, with his bodyguards and driver also joining in and assaulting Qureshi with an iron rod.

During the attack, Shera also allegedly pointed his pistol at Qureshi and threatened him.

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Qureshi, who had fallen on the ground, was rescued by his friends and taken to the DN Nagar police station, which sent him to Cooper hospital in Vile Parle. He was later shifted to Criti Care hospital.

Cops say
Senior inspector Dhanaji Nalawade said, "A case under sections 326 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 506 (2) (criminal intimidation), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 504 (Intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the Arms Act has been registered against the four accused; investigations are underway. The complainant has also handed over an iron rod allegedly used to assault him."

"In the late afternoon yesterday, the police recorded Shera's statement. He denied his role in the matter and said he was at a restaurant for dinner and then had headed for home in Oshiwara. He confessed of having spoken to Ajay over the phone but denied being at the crime scene. We are retrieving his call records and cellphone locations and are also in the process of acquiring footage from the CCTV in the area."

Qureshi's friend Lucky told mid-day, "He is out of danger but is in constant pain. The police once again recorded his statement in the case in the evening."

mid-day's calls and messages to Shera went unanswered.