Man who threatened Shah Rukh Khan arrested from Chhattisgarh

Faizan Khan, a 42-year-old lawyer from Raipur, Chhattisgarh, was arrested by Mumbai Police on Tuesday in connection with a death threat issued to Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan. The threat, which also involved a ransom demand of Rs 50 lakh, was made on November 7. The call was received at the Bandra police station, with the caller identifying himself as “Hindustani” and claiming to be outside the actor’s residence, Mannat, in Bandra. He threatened to kill Shah Rukh Khan if the ransom demand was not met. Following this, a First Information Report (FIR) was filed under sections of extortion and criminal intimidation.

The Mumbai Police’s investigation quickly led them to Faizan Khan. Tracing the phone number used to make the threat, investigators found it was registered in Khan’s name. When summoned for questioning, Faizan Khan denied any involvement, claiming that his phone had been stolen on November 2, the day of Shah Rukh Khan's birthday. He stated he had reported the phone theft to local Raipur police, and thus, someone else must have used his number to make the call. This claim was investigated but found to be unsupported by evidence.

Despite his claims, the investigation revealed that the call originated from Faizan Khan’s registered mobile number, and no evidence of theft or loss was substantiated. After failing to appear in Mumbai for questioning, Khan was arrested by a Mumbai police team at his Raipur residence. He was subsequently taken into custody, and police are seeking his transit remand to bring him to Mumbai for further investigation. Khan has been charged under sections 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide) and 351 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), among other relevant sections related to extortion.

Faizan Khan’s grievances against Shah Rukh Khan appear to stem from his interpretation of certain portrayals in the actor’s films. Specifically, he took issue with a scene from the 1993 film Anjaam, where Shah Rukh Khan’s character allegedly kills a deer, which is then cooked and consumed. Faizan Khan, who claims to be from the Bishnoi community, a group known for its reverence for wildlife, particularly deer, argued that the portrayal was disrespectful and contrary to his religious beliefs. In a YouTube video, Khan alleged that the actor had links to terrorist organizations and accused him of promoting enmity between religious communities.

In addition to the death threat case, Faizan Khan had filed an official complaint against Shah Rukh Khan earlier this year, accusing the actor of making statements that could incite religious violence. He alleged that Khan's actions in films and public statements were damaging to interfaith relations. Mumbai Police later stepped up security outside Mannat, Shah Rukh Khan’s residence, due to the rising threat against the actor’s safety. This marks a continued pattern of threats made against high-profile Bollywood celebrities, following similar threats made to Salman Khan, which were reportedly linked to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. Faizan Khan is expected to be presented before a court in Raipur for his transit remand, after which he will be taken to Mumbai to face further investigation. Police are continuing to probe the full extent of his motivations and any possible connections to other criminal elements.