In a dramatic turn of events, a 24-year-old lyricist from a forthcoming Salman Khan film was arrested for allegedly sending a death threat, supposedly from the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, to both the actor and himself. The lyricist, Sohail Pasha, had reportedly contacted the Mumbai traffic control room, seeking publicity for the song, which references Bishnoi. Pasha was arrested in Raichur, Karnataka, on Tuesday, days after a WhatsApp message was received by the city's police on November 7, threatening to kill Salman Khan and the lyricist unless ₹5 crore was paid.

The threatening message read, "The songwriter's condition will be such that he will no longer be able to write songs. If Salman Khan has the courage, he should save them." Authorities believe Pasha sent the threat to gain fame for the song and himself.

The threat emerged amidst ongoing warnings to Khan from Bishnoi and his associates, stemming from a 1998 blackbuck poaching case. Following a shooting incident outside his Mumbai home in April, Khan's security was upgraded to Y-plus.

Police traced the source of the threat to a mobile number in Raichur. Further investigation revealed that Vyankatesh Narayan, the phone's owner, had unwittingly been involved after a stranger used his phone to install WhatsApp. Narayan later confirmed that the stranger used his number to receive an OTP for WhatsApp installation. The police then identified Pasha as the culprit and arrested him. He was brought to Mumbai and remanded in police custody for two days.

Disclaimer: This image is taken from NDTV