New Delhi:

In a twist worthy of a Bollywood movie, the 24-year-old lyricist of a song in an upcoming Salman Khan film has been arrested for issuing a death threat – purportedly from the Lawrence Bishnoi gang – to the actor and himself. Police said the lyricist had called the Mumbai traffic control room because he wanted the song, which mentions Bishnoi, to get publicity.

Sohail Pasha was arrested from Raichur in Karnataka on Tuesday, days after the WhatsApp helpline of the city police received a message on November 7 threatening that Mr Khan and the lyricist of the song ‘Main Sikandar Hun’ would be killed if Rs 5 crore was not paid.

“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,” the threat message read.

Police said the threat was sent by Pasha because he wanted the song, and him, to become famous.

The threat came at a time when Mr Khan had been receiving multiple warnings allegedly from Bishnoi and his associates, who have previously targeted him over alleged grievances stemming from a 1998 blackbuck poaching case. Khan’s security was upgraded to Y-plus category after shots were fired outside his home in Mumbai in April.

According to the police, the crime branch tracked down the mobile number from which the latest warnings were issued to Raichur. An official said a team was sent to Karnataka and Vyankatesh Narayan, who owned the number, was interrogated. They found that his phone had no access to the internet.

It then came to light that Narayan’s phone had received a one-time password (OTP) for installation WhatsApp. Narayan subsequently told police that on November 3, a stranger approached him in a market and asked if he could have his phone to make a call.

Further investigation revealed that the man had installed WhatsApp on his own phone by using Narayan’s mobile number to obtain an OTP, an official said The crime branch team then zeroed in on Pasha at Manavi village near Raichur.

Pasha was taken to Mumbai and produced in court, which sent him to police custody for two days.