Mumbai:
A man and a woman were arrested by the Mumbai Police for allegedly attempting to enter Bollywood actor Salman Khan’s residence this week, police said on Thursday.
The accused, the police added, made separate attempts to enter Galaxy Apartments in Bandra (West) on Tuesday and Wednesday. The man was identified as Jitendra Kumar Singh (23) and the woman, Isha Chhabra (32).
According to the police, Singh, a resident of Chhattisgarh, was initially spotted roaming around Mr Khan’s house at around 9.45am on Tuesday. When a policeman deployed for the actor’s security asked him to leave, the accused smashed his mobile phone on the ground in a fit of rage.
“That evening, Singh entered Galaxy Apartments in a car belonging to a person living in the same building. However, he was stopped by the police again. This time, they handed him over to the Bandra police,” an officer said.
During the course of interrogation, Singh said he wanted to meet the actor. He claimed that he tried to sneak in as the police were not allowing him to enter the building, the officer added.
It was not immediately clear how Singh got inside a vehicle of the resident of Galaxy Apartments.
A day later, Chhabra made a similar bid at around 3.30am and even managed to reach up to the lift of the apartment, police said.
“The two accused have been arrested and cases of trespassing have been registered against them,” the officer said.
Mr Khan had a serious security scare on April 14 last year when two men on motorcycle, allegedly belonging to the Bishnoi gang, opened fire outside Galaxy Apartments. It was later revealed that the attack was attempted by the Lawrence Bishnoi gang.
In 2023, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) said that Mr Khan topped the list of 10 main targets that Bishnoi planned to eliminate, citing the actor’s infamous 1998 black buck hunting incident, which according to the jailed gangster, offended the Bishnoi community.
The actor has received several threats from the Bishnoi gang and has been provided ‘Y-plus’ security cover by the Mumbai Police. He has also carried out an extensive renovation to boost the security of his residence.
Months after the shooting incident in April, the murder of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Baba Siddique by the Bishnoi gang led the cops to further increase security outside the actor’s residence.
Siddique, known for his lavish iftar parties, was a close friend of Mr Khan. The actor even visited the NCP leader’s house and hospital after the latter was shot.
At a press meet in Mumbai in March this year, ahead of his movie Sikandar’s release, Mr Khan spoke about how the extensive security detailing might be cramping his style.
“No, it’s not when I’m with the press. It’s when I’m without the press, that cramps my style. No, obviously not. I cannot do anything. It’s from my residence Galaxy to shoot, and then back home after the shoot. No detours,” he said.
