JODHPUR: After actor Salman Khan, his lawyer Hastimal Saraswat of Jodhpur too has received a life threat from Lawrence Bishnoi, a gangster serving time in Delhi's Tihar jail and was recently in the news following suspicion that his gang members were behind the shooting of Punjabi rapper Sidhu Moose Wala on May 29.
The letter repeatedly mentions that "You will meet the same fate as Moose Wala" and threatens that "an enemy's friend is their first enemy". It's signed off with the initials LB and GB-said to be short for Lawrence Bishnoi and Goldie Brar, the Canada-based sidekick who had claimed responsibility for Moose Wala's murder in a social media post.
It has been suspected that the "enemy" is actor Salman Khan, whose father Salim Khan received a similar threat two months ago when a letter was found on the bench of a park he visited every morning in Mumbai.
Saraswat was abroad when the letter was found by his assistant, advocate Jitendra Prasad, on the doorknob of Jubilee Chamber at the old Rajasthan high court building in Jodhpur on July 3. Prasad reported the threat to the police commissioner and an FIR was filed accordingly. Jubilee Chamber has offices of advocates.
Saraswat returned to Jodhpur on Wednesday. He said Salman Khan is not a friend, but his client. "This is our profession... just like other people who come to me with a case."
A police officer said the letter to Saraswat could be a mischief, but considering Bishnoi's threat to Khan, policemen were posted to guard the lawyer. Saraswat was the actor's counsel in his blackbuck hunting case. "We are probing the authenticity of the letter and have provided security to Saraswat," said Lekh Raj Sihag, SHO of Mahamandir police station where the complaint was filed.
