Shooters of Baba Siddique, who was murdered nearly two months ago, had planned to kill actor Salman Khan, before gunning down the NCP leader, sources told media. This was revealed by the accused during questioning in connection with the Baba Siddique murder case, they said.
Siddique, 66, was shot dead on October 12 outside the Bandra East office of his son, Zeeshan Siddique, in Mumbai. Three assailants fired at him, hitting him twice in the chest. He was rushed to Lilavati Hospital, where he was declared brought dead.
During questioning, the accused said that Salman Khan was on the shooters' hit list, but they could not reach him due to the actor's tight security arrangements, sources said.
On April 14, two bike-borne assailants opened fire outside Salman Khan's Bandra residence late at night. The shooters, Vicky Gupta and Sagar Pal, were later arrested in Gujarat. Later, the Lawrence Bishnoi gang claimed responsibility for the incident.
In recent months, Salman Khan has been repeatedly targeted by threats from the Lawrence Bishnoi gang.
Apart from the feud with Lawrence Bishnoi, there have also been incidents of people issuing threats to Salman Khan in the name of the gangster.
Last month, a threat was made to Salman Khan by a man claiming to be Lawrence Bishnoi's brother. The caller asked the actor to visit a temple and apologise for killing a black buck or pay Rs 5 crore.
In October, a vegetable seller from Jamshedpur was arrested for threatening Salman Khan and demanding a ransom of Rs 5 crore. Just days later, the actor received a fresh death threat from an unknown person, who demanded a Rs 2 crore ransom.
Mumbai Police also arrested a 20-year-old man from Noida in connection with a threat call to Salman Khan.
In response to these escalating threats, Salman Khan has been provided Y+ security and there is a strong police presence outside his residence. The Mumbai Police have also installed AI-powered and high-resolution CCTV cameras with facial recognition technology to enhance security.
Source: India Today