Bollywood on alert: Salman Khan’s brother-in-law Aayush Sharma, actor receives threats from Lawrence gang

MUMBAI: Yet another Bollywood personality has received an extortion demand from Lawrence Bishnoi gang, police sources said Wednesday. This time it's actor Aayush Sharma, brother-in-law of Salman Khan, who himself has been targeted with shots being fired at his flat last year.

The demand via Proton Mail for a large sum of money came a day after police said actor Ranveer Singh received an extortion threat from the gang.


Late Wednesday, there were also unconfirmed reports that the secretary of an action hero received threat calls.

So far over a dozen Bollywood celebrities have received such threats in the last two weeks. In view of the threats, the crime branch Wednesday invoked the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act against 5 members of the gang's Shubham Lonkar faction.

Sharma, who is married to Salman's adopted sister Arpita, made his Bollywood debut with 'Loveyatri' and later starred alongside Salman in 'Antim: The Final Truth'.

Police have advised actor Aayush Sharma to remain vigilant and seek protection if he feels unsafe. The cyber cell has initiated efforts to trace the sender of the email, police officers, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said.

On Tuesday, it was learnt that actor Ranveer Singh was provided additional police protection following an extortion threat, also from the Bishnoi gang. At the time, the police were not willing to provide any information on the matter.

Asked about the threat to Singh, a senior officer said, "We are in the process of verifying the details and will soon register an FIR. The investigation is underway. It would not be proper to comment on such a highly sensitive case."

Following concerns raised by the managing committee of the Beau Monde residential tower in Prabhadevi, where Singh resides with his wife Deepika Padukone, the Dadar police on Tuesday visited the premises to review security arrangements. During inquiries, the police confirmed that Singh had been provided with two armed personnel from the police protection department on orders from seniors.

The developments come even as the city crime branch continues its search for the unidentified shooter who fired five rounds outside filmmaker Rohit Shetty's residence last month.