'Salman had come home twice asking us to vacate the place'

Fisherman, who complained that the actor had threatened him for blocking sea view from his cottages, says Addl CP assured his family of settling the dispute within 15 days

Dabangg star Salman Khan is in trouble again. So are his bodyguards, and even his father Salim Khan, after police turned into an FIR three non-cognisable complaints filed earlier by a fisherman’s family at Bandra. They alleged that the Khans threatened them to shift their boats and fishing nets, which were blocking sea view from the star’s cottages.

An undated photo showing an agitated Salman in conversation with Lawrence Falcon

MiD DAY has learnt that Additional Commissioner of Police Vishwas Nangre Patil called the fisherman, Lawrence Falcon, to his office yesterday, and asked him for 15 days to settle the dispute. Patil had also ordered Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Chhering Dorje to submit an inquiry report, which the latter did.

“Saheb (Patil) ne 15 din ka samay manga hai,” said Melicon Falcon, a relative of the victim. Salman acquired two cottages - Belle View and Benar - at Chimbai beach, Bandra, in 2011. According to police, the Khan family claimed the three boats owned by the fisherman were blocking their view of the sea. A relative of Lawrence Falcon’s told MiD DAY, “Both Salman and Salim had come to our house on two different occasions, asking us to vacate the place or face arrest. Salman suggested we either sell the boats or he would get us another location in the neighbourhood to park them.”

“In fact Salman’s bodyguards started harassing us the moment he bought the houses, asking us not to put up our nets, which blocked the view from the cottages. They started running away with plastic covers of the boats and despoiling the fishing nets,” said a neighbour of Falcon’s. Lawrence has also alleged that women from his family were assaulted by the actor’s bodyguards. The fisherman said that he filed three non-cognisable (NCs) complaints on September 15, 2011, May 5, 2012 and December 30, 2012 with the Bandra police. On Saturday, local cops registered an FIR in the matter.

The other side
Despite repeated attempts by MiD DAY, Addl CP Vishwas Nangre Patil, DCP Chhering Dorje and Senior Inspector Abhay Shashtri were not available for comment. Salman is in Dubai and his father Salim did not respond to our calls and SMS. Rubbishing all allegations, a family friend of the Khans’ said, “These people (the fisherfolk) are trying to gain publicity using Salman’s name.”

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