The Mumbai Police recently arrested a 21-year-old man from Uttar Pradesh in connection with calling and sending threatening messages to Zeeshan Siddique, the son of the killed NCP kingpin and present MLA Baba Siddique.
The alleged culprit, known by the name Mohammed Tayyab, has been taken to the Nirmal Nagar Police Station in Mumbai to establish why he reached the Heritage site with an axe in hand.
The incident came to light only when one of the staff members in Zeeshan Siddique’s office in Bandra registered a police complaint on Friday evening after receiving obscene messages. It is said that the threats also warned of harm to Bollywood actor Salman Khan and Independent MLA and film actor Zeeshan Siddique if a ransom was not paid. After the complaint, the Mumbai Police reacted and raided Tayyab’s messages, making them arrest him easily.
This incident is similar to another case in which the Mumbai Police arrested another person, Shaikh Hussain Shaikh Mausin, a 24-year-old vegetable vendor from Jamshedpur, Jharkhand. Mausin had allegedly sent a message to Ashok Saraf threatening him to kill Salman Khan unless a ransom of Rs. 5 crore was paid. This was a message to the Mumbai Traffic Police’s WhatsApp helpline, which elicited a highly sensitive reaction from the police. Police personnel got to know the origin of the threat to Jharkhand and started searching for Mausin, some going to Guwahati as a part of the expanded search party.
An ironic turn to the case is that the same mobile number that was used in the act later sent an apology text message to the Mumbai Traffic Police, making things more complicated. The police have raised serious questions about the intentions behind these threats as well as any relations of the people in question.
The rise in threats and ransom communications concerning several personalities in the city has enhanced security and police alert amongst the Mumbai populace. These instances highlight the police’s ability to act preventatively to threats for the protection of the communities.
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