MUMBAI: Around a fortnight after actor Aamir Khan married Bengaluru-born entrepreneur, fashion stylist and salon professional Gauri Spratt, Mumbai Police have launched an inquiry into a purported threat issued in the name of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi’s gang through a viral voice note and social media post accusing the actor of promoting what the speakers described as “Love Jihad”.
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As the clip began circulating widely online on Saturday, police stepped up security outside Khan’s residence in Pali Hill, Bandra West, even though the actor is currently out of the country.
Police officials said they are yet to establish the origin or authenticity of either the voice clip or the accompanying social media post. “We are examining the veracity of the social media post and the voice clip,” Mumbai police commissioner Deven Bharti said.
The voice note was issued by a man identifying himself as Arzoo Bishnoi, who claims to be associated with Lawrence Bishnoi. In the recording, he alleges that Khan was promoting what he called “Love Jihad” through his marriages to Hindu women and warned of consequences.
The 61-year-old actor married Gauri Spratt on July 5. This was his third marriage. The audio begins with the speaker identifying himself as Arzoo Bishnoi and greeting “all brothers and sisters” before claiming that “people like Aamir Khan are promoting Love Jihad in our country” and warning that such acts would not be tolerated.
The recording goes on to issue a direct threat, saying, “Jald hi inki saanse daba di jayegi” (”Soon, they will be choked to death”), and claims the gang would stage such an attack that Khan and those associated with him would “think a hundred times” before repeating such actions.
A senior police officer said the voice clip appears to have reached India through the encrypted messaging platform Signal before being circulated among journalists and on social media.
The officer said investigators are examining whether Khan or his representatives received the threat directly or indirectly. No formal complaint has been lodged by the actor or his team so far. Police said cyber and digital forensic teams are working to trace the origin of the recording and establish whether it is genuine.
“We have already deployed police personnel outside his residence in Pali Hill as a precautionary measure. Depending on the outcome of the verification and threat assessment, a decision will be taken on whether additional security is required,” the officer said.
The latest development comes amid a series of alleged threats issued in the name of Lawrence Bishnoi’s gang against several prominent figures from the Hindi film industry. (SEE BOX)
Bishnoi and his syndicate allegedly targeted actor Salman Khan for years. Driven by a 1998 blackbuck poaching case in Rajasthan, the conflict has escalated to the 2024 shooting at Khan’s residence in Mumbai, ongoing death threats, and international indictments.
Recently, the United States charged Lawrence Bishnoi and his aide Satinderjeet Singh alias Goldy Brar for ordering the assassination of Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada. Earlier this year, at least five rounds were fired at the first floor of filmmaker Rohit Shetty’s nine-storey house in Juhu area of Mumbai, one of which struck the glass of a gym inside the building.
The Mumbai Police filed a 1,624-page chargesheet against 17 accused in a special MCOCA court in April.
While 15 persons have been arrested in the firing case, Shubham Lonkar and Arzoo Bishnoi, part of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, were shown as wanted accused. The duo had taken responsibility for the incident through a social media post, police had said.
