Threat calls accusing Aamir Khan of 'love jihad' traced to Canada and Sweden

The threats were sent to Aamir Khan by a man claiming to be a member of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi's group known for previous attacks on Bollywood actors.

The threatening calls and an audio message sent to Bollywood actor Aamir Khan have been traced to IP addresses in Sweden and Canada. The police said the threats, using jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi’s name, were issued using Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) calls. They have written to the platforms and the countries to get more details.

The attacks followed the 61-year-old's recently concluded wedding to Gauri Spratt, his third marriage. (PTI)

The audio message, issued by a man claiming to be Arzoo Bishnoi, a member of Lawrence Bishnoi’s gang, accuses Khan of promoting “love jihad” through his marriages to Hindu women. The 61-year-old actor got married for the third time on July 5, to Gauri Spratt.

Warning that such acts will not be tolerated, the recording goes on to issue a direct threat: “Jald hi inki saanse daba di jayengi (Soon, his breath will be stifled)”. The speaker then claims that the Bishnoi gang will stage such an attack that Khan and those associated with him will “think a hundred times” before repeating such actions.

An encrypted messaging platform

A senior police officer said the voice clip appeared to have reached India through the encrypted messaging platform Signal before being circulated among journalists and on social media. No formal complaint has been lodged by the actor so far but the police have stepped up security outside his house in Pali Hill in Bandra. The actor was out of India and recently returned to the country.

The latest development comes amid a series of threats issued in the name of Lawrence Bishnoi’s gang to several prominent figures from the Hindi film industry.

Bishnoi's attack on Bollywood

Bishnoi and his syndicate have targeted actor Salman Khan for years. Driven by a 1998 blackbuck poaching case in Rajasthan, the conflict escalated to the 2024 shooting at Khan’s residence in Mumbai and constant death threats.

Earlier this year, at least five rounds were fired at the first floor of filmmaker Rohit Shetty’s nine-storey house in Juhu, one of which struck the glass of a gym inside the building. While 15 persons have been arrested in the firing case, Shubham Lonkar and Arzoo Bishnoi, both part of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, are wanted accused in the case. The duo took responsibility for the incident through a social media post.

Recently, the United States charged Lawrence Bishnoi and his aide, Satinderjeet Singh alias Goldy Brar, for ordering the assassination of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada.