Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan has been targeted with a ransom threat, reportedly made directly to the Bandra police station in Mumbai from Raipur, Chhattisgarh. A young man identified as Faizan allegedly demanded Rs 50 lakh, prompting the police to register a case and dispatch a team to Raipur for further investigation. Authorities traced Faizan’s location through an active phone number, reported NDTV.
This incident is not the first time the actor, fondly referred to as 'King Khan' by fans, has faced threats. In October last year, after the massive success of his blockbuster films Pathaan and Jawan, Shah Rukh Khan received a death threat that led to the Mumbai Police upgrading his security to Y+ category. This elite cover ensures the 59-year-old actor is guarded round the clock by six armed personnel, compared to the two he had earlier.
Rising threats in Bollywood: Salman Khan also targeted
The threat to Shah Rukh Khan comes amid ongoing intimidation targeting another Bollywood superstar, Salman Khan. On Wednesday, a 32-year-old man from Rajasthan, identified as Bhikha Ram (also known as Vikram), was arrested in Karnataka for issuing a death threat to Salman Khan.
According to police sources, the accused—a daily wage worker from Jalore district—was watching a news report on television when he made the threatening call, allegedly hoping to capitalise on the notoriety of previous threats to the actor. Ram claimed to be a fan of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, whose gang has repeatedly targeted Salman Khan with threats.
The latest warning to Salman Khan, delivered earlier this week, demanded that he apologise at a temple for the 1998 killing of a blackbuck, a sacred animal to the Bishnoi community, or pay a ransom of Rs 5 crore. This was the second threat Salman Khan received in just seven days.
Earlier in April, suspected Bishnoi gang members fired shots outside Salman Khan’s Bandra residence, triggering another upgrade to his security.