Mumbai police arrest songwriter for sending threat messages to Salman Khan
Mumbai Police on Tuesday arrested a songwriter for allegedly sending threatening messages to Bollywood actor Salman Khan, demanding Rs 5 crore in the name of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, an official said.
Sohail Pasha, who was apprehended in Raichur, Karnataka, is accused of using this threat as a ploy to make his song more famous. Police claim Pasha wanted his song, "Main Sikandar Hun," to gain popularity and believed that involving a high-profile figure like Salman Khan would help achieve that.
The threat came to light on November 7, when the Mumbai Traffic Police's WhatsApp helpline received multiple messages from someone claiming to be a member of the Bishnoi gang. The sender warned that Salman Khan would be killed unless he paid Rs 5 crore, and also threatened to kill the writer of the song "Main Sikandar Hun."
Following the receipt of these messages, Mumbai Police's crime branch traced the sender's mobile number to Raichur. A team was dispatched to Karnataka, where they located Vyankatesh Narayan, the person who owned the phone number. During questioning, Narayan revealed that his mobile phone did not have internet access. However, police discovered that Narayan's number had been used to install WhatsApp, as he had received an OTP (One-Time Password) for the app's installation.
Narayan explained that a stranger had approached him in a marketplace on November 3, asking to borrow his phone to make a call. The stranger then used Narayan's phone to install WhatsApp and obtain the OTP, the police said.
Investigators later zeroed in on Pasha, who was found to be the songwriter behind the song mentioned in the threat. Pasha reportedly fabricated the threat in an attempt to gain attention for his work.
Pasha was arrested and brought to Mumbai, where he was handed over to Worli Police for further investigation.
The Mumbai Traffic Police's helpline has reportedly received at least four such threat messages targeting Salman Khan in recent months.
