Noida youth nabbed for threats to Salman Khan, Zeeshan Siddique; Mumbai Police get transit remand

Mumbai: The Mumbai Police have nabbed a youth from Noida in Uttar Pradesh for allegedly issuing extortion and death threats to Bollywood megastar Salman Khan and Nationalist Congress Party leader Zeeshan Siddique, officials said here on Tuesday.

Following a complaint from the NCP leader's office staffers, the Nirmal Nagar Police in Mumbai registered a complaint on Monday and tracked the accused using tech-intel. The accused, identified as Mohammed Tayab, alias Gufran Khan, 20, had sent a threat message to Siddique's mobile phone that is used for receiving and resolving public grievances last Friday.

Mumbai Police, meanwhile, have obtained a four-day transit remand of the accused from a Noida court.

Putting the number from where the message was sent on surveillance, the Crime Branch managed to trace and nab Khan from Noida late on Monday.

Zeeshan Siddique is the NCP candidate from Bandra East Assembly constituency and the latest threats to him and the actor came two weeks after his father, ex-minister and businessman Baba Ziauddin Siddique was shot dead near his office on October 12 night at the height of Dussehra celebrations.

So far, the police have arrested at least 15 people from different parts of India for Siddique's killing that had sparked a nationwide political furore, coming ahead of the state Assembly elections.

As per preliminary investigations, the purported motive of the accused youth was allegedly to create a scare and extort money from the celebrity duo.

Salman Khan and his legendary father Salim Khan are already facing multiple threats and attacks, from the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, and even some wannabe law-breakers who have targeted the celeb duo in recent months.

The Nirmal Nagar Police have booked arrested-accused Khan under various sections of the BNS and further probe is underway to find out if he has any accomplices or mafia links.

Earlier on Tuesday, a court in Noida's Surajpur granted to the Mumbai Police a four-day transit remand of Mohammad Tayyab.

According to police reports, the threat was made through a phone call to the public relations office of Zeeshan Siddique, who represents Bandra East in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.

The accused who allegedly demanded a ransom of Rs 10 crore, was booked under Sections 303(2) and 308 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which includes provisions for life imprisonment under Section 308.

During their initial investigation, the police found no links between the accused and any criminal gang. The police noted that Tayyab had issued threats to both Zeeshan Siddique and actor Salman Khan, seemingly in an emotionally unstable state.

The Mumbai Police plan to question Tayyab to uncover further details about the threats. His family lives in Bareilly and they have been informed of their son's arrest.

Tayyab, originally from the Bhoji Pura area in Bareilly, was working in a bungalow in Noida's Sector 92 for a salary of Rs 8,000 per month. He lives in Jyoti Nagar, Delhi, and has one brother and two sisters.

The Gautam Buddh Nagar Police Commissionerate have formed a team to monitor social media accounts of individuals who incite public unrest or glorify criminal elements.

Zeeshan’s father and NCP senior leader Baba Ziauddin Siddique was shot dead near Nirmal Nagar, in Bandra East on October 12.

Baba Siddique, a veteran Congress leader for decades and a close associate of the former Union Minister Sunil Dutt and his daughter Priya Dutt, had quit the party to throw his weight behind Ajit Pawar’s NCP in February, ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Meanwhile, Zeeshan is set to contest the Maharashtra elections on an NCP ticket. He joined the NCP on October 25 in the presence of party President Ajit Pawar and state unit chief Sunil Tatkare and soon after that, his nomination was announced.

He will take on Shiv Sena-UBT nominee Varun Sardesai in Bandra East. Maharashtra is going for single-phase polls on November 20.