A day after the Bishnoi gang claimed responsibility for the attack on Bollywood actor Tiger Shroff, Lawrence Bishnoi's cousin Ramesh on Monday called out Salman Khan on video, adding to the previous warning.
He urged Salman Khan to apologise to the Bishnoi community, and that there would be dangerous consequences if he did not do so.
The Bishnoi gang's anger against Khan dates back to his to his alleged involvement in the 1998 blackbuck poaching case in Rajasthan during the filming of Hum Saath Saath Hain. Though the actor was convicted by a trial court in 2018, he later disputed it in higher courts, and maintains his innocence.
"I want to tell Salman Khan’s family to give up their stubbornness. This is an issue affecting the entire community, and there is widespread anger within it," he told IANS on video.
Notably, it was when alleged Bishnoi gang members Anil Pandit and Armaan Sandhu claimed responsibility for the attack that Khan's name came up, as the two had warned Tiger Shroff—and everyone in Bollywood—not to work with him due to his ongoing animosity with the gang.
The Sunday attack took place just after 7 PM at the Pushpa Park in Mumbai's Juhu area. Shroff was returning to his car after playing football when three assailants on a motorcycle opened fire at his car and rushed off. He managed to escape unhurt, though two others sustained injuries and were rushed to the hospital.
The three accused, including one minor, were arrested on Monday by the Kota Police in Rajasthan.
"Lawrence has no personal dispute with Salman Khan, nor is it a personal dispute with the community. The issue is that he has hurt our religious sentiments," added Ramesh, urging Salman Khan to listen to Lawrence, and "come forward and apologise".
However, Lawrence Bishnoi's cousin later clarified that what he said were "not (his) words", and that he was just "citing their emotions on the matter".
