In a shocking twist, the person who allegedly threatened Bollywood actor Salman Khan and demanded a Rs 5 crore ransom is none other than Sohail Pasha(24), a YouTuber who had written a song about Khan titled Main Sikandar Hoon. This revelation came to light following an investigation by the Crime Branch, which has now taken Pasha into custody from Manvi, Raichur, Karnataka.
Khan, who has been on the radar of the notorious Lawrence Bishnoi gang, has received multiple threats recently. On the night of November 7, around 9:45 p.m., the Mumbai Police's Traffic Department helpline at the Worli headquarters received a threatening message. The message demanded Rs 5 crore from Salman Khan and the lyricist of Main Sikandar Hoon in the name of Lawrence Bishnoi.
The message read, "Whoever wrote Main Sikandar Hoon... we will end him. Those who support Salman will not be spared either. If Salman wants to be safe, he must pay Rs 5 crore - Lawrence Bishnoi." The traffic police control room immediately alerted local Worli police and other agencies. Taking the message seriously, the Worli police registered a case and began their investigation.
Using technical evidence, the Crime Branch's Criminal Intelligence Unit tracked down the origin of the threat to Karnataka. A team found the phone number registered to a man named Venkatesh Narayan, who was then questioned thoroughly. Narayan was found to use a simple phone without internet or Android capabilities. However, investigators noticed that on November 3, an OTP had been received on his number for installing WhatsApp.
Upon further questioning, Narayan revealed that on November 3, while he was at the market, an unknown individual had requested his phone, pleading to make a call. Narayan lent him the phone, only for the person to install WhatsApp on Narayan's phone number and later use it to send the threatening message to the Mumbai traffic helpline. Following this lead, the Crime Branch apprehended Pasha and brought him to Mumbai, where he was handed over to Worli Police for further investigation.