A real-life Bollywood and underworld crossover is not unheard of. And while there are umpteen case files of extortion attempts, threats and other intimidation tactics that leading stars have been subjected to in the past by gangsters and mob bosses, the Salman Khan and Lawrence Bishnoi saga is much more complicated.
Things have been tense at the Khan household this year, given the recurring death threats the star has been weathering, including an unprovoked firing outside his famed Bandra residence in April. Each of these instances have either been directly claimed by, or speculatively attributed to, the Bishnoi gang. Not just Salman, those close to him are also very much in the illusive line of fire. Be it NCP leader Baba Siddique being gunned down early October or the actor’s father Salim Khan being threatened during his morning walk (later revealed to be a prank), the fear appears to be omnipresent. But what exactly, is the reason behind this sustained hate that Bishnoi has harboured for the superstar loved by millions?
The answer lies in 1998. Back in October of the year, Salman, along with the team of a now-cult classic film he was shooting for, found themselves stationed in Jodhpur, Rajasthan. As per Mahipal Bishnoi, a member of the Bishnoi community, gunshots were heard at 2 in the morning between October 1 and October 2, in Kankani village. What was discovered were 2 dead blackbucks. Endless reports since then, corroborated by the decades-long court proceedings, have pinned the blame on Salman, in congruence with cast mates Saif Ali Khan, Tabu and Sonali Bendre. While the rest were acquitted, Salman was given a prison sentence of 5 years, which of course his lawyers have successfully contested. Mind you, on the unfortunate night that the blackbuck saga commenced, Lawrence, now 31, was all of 5 years old.
Now for some cultural context, the blackbuck is intensely revered by the Bishnoi community, a core principle of theirs being the nurturing of wildlife and nature. Blackbucks in particular are viewed as the literal manifestation of the community’s founder, Guru Jambheshwar. To truly gauge of what importance this endangered species holds for the community, it is worth knowing that Bishnoi women are also said to breastfeed orphaned blackbuck fawns as and when needed. The killing of the blackbucks then, was seen as an outright desacaralisation of the community’s beliefs, that too on their turf.
How deeply this whole series of events impacted Lawrence, was not really known till in 2018, when while in police custody, the gangster vowed to bring an end to Salman’s life, in Jodhpur itself. the severity of the statement was soon realised, when in 2022 Salim found a letter threat left on a bench, during his morning walk. ‘Tumhara Moose Wala kar denge (you will end up like Moose Wala)’, it read. This was followed by an e-mail threat in March 2023, which promised to kill Salman and his family. The shooting at Galaxy Apartments the following month, was not the last detail. In May, an alleged plan to gun down Salman with AK-47 rifles near his Panvel farmhouse, was timely hijacked by the police. About a year-and-a-half ago, during an interview from jail, Lawrence had asserted that all Salman needed to do was visit the Bishnoi temple and express repentance. This offer evidently seems to have timed out. Following a fresh threat received by Mumbai police on October 18, as per which the actor is expected to pay ₹5 crores, or expect to perish, “worse than Baba Siddique”, Salman has reportedly ordered for a bulletproof car — the Nissan Patrol SUV to be specific — worth ₹2 crores, from abroad.
Additionally, the actor’s personal security as well as that on the sets of Bigg Boss, which he is shooting for periodically, has been significantly beefed up.
