Salman Khan gets Arms license following request citing death threats

Bollywood actor Salman Khan was issued an Arms licence by the Mumbai Police after he applied for it for self-protection following threat letters that he had received recently, reports The Indian Express. 

The actor had met Mumbai Police Commissioner Vivek Phansalkar last month following which the licensing authority began the procedure for granting him the license. The actor and his father Saleem Khan had received a death threat in June, just days after singer Sidhu Moosewala was shot dead near Punjab on May 29. Gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, who is allegedly the mastermind behind the killing of Moosewala, had issued a threat to Salman Khan.

Salman had been on the radar of Bishnoi ever since the actor’s alleged involvement in the blackbuck poaching case of 1998. Blackbucks are worshipped by the Bishnoi community.

However, over the past two decades, the issued had died down. Later, an unsigned letter threatening his father Saleem Khan was found at the spot in Bandra where his father goes for his daily walk.

The actor had visited the Mumbai Police headquarters late last month to meet with top cop Vivek Phansalkar for a gun licence. “He wants to own a gun to protect himself and his family,” an officer said. The cop added that Salman had visited the police headquarters for physical verification following which the license was issued.

As per the Arms Act, one needs to show a certain level of threat to justify owning a firearm. The police licensing authority then decides on the threat level and takes a call on whether a firearm be allowed. Even security companies can be allowed firearms if they follow the rules around it laid down under the Arms Act and apply for the same from the police.