YouTuber arrested from Rajasthan for threatening actor Salman Khan
The Mumbai police’s Crime Branch has arrested Banwarilal Laturlal Gujar, a 25-year-old from Rajasthan, for allegedly threatening Bollywood actor Salman Khan through a YouTube video on the channel ‘Are Chhodo Yaar’.
Gujar was brought to Mumbai and produced before a city court on Sunday, which remanded him to police custody until June 18.
According to the police, the complaint was filed after a viewer noticed a video on the ‘Aare Chhodo Yaar’ channel where a person, speaking in Hindi, claimed association with gang members Goldy Brar, Vivek Bhaiya, Rohit, and Jitin, and issued threats to Salman Khan. The content, transcribed by the police, included statements such as: “Ram Ram mere sabhi Bhaiyo (Ram Ram all my brothers)… Brothers, we are all brothers now, Goldy is my brother, Nitin, Vivek, Rohit, and Jitin, they all are here and there are many more brothers.” The video further stated, “Our intention was clear, what we want and it was shared but he is not listening. His ego gets hurt. He has an attitude and he has an ego. He considers himself Dabangg King Khan.”
The video continued with threats, “We will not tell him what is Khan and who is a fanatic Hindutva. Okay, there is no issue, we all brothers are available here… Today we have laid a trap, and we know what and where we have to do and what not to do, and what to do with whom… Whoever commits a mistake will pay the price. It does not affect us… We are searching for actor Salman Khan, and he is coming in the same line. Whether he has Y plus security or Z plus. But we have announced, meaning if we have said it, we will do it. Whoever will collide with us, we will finish them. Jai Hind Jai Bharat.”
Based on this video, the South Cyber police registered a case under sections 506(2) (criminal intimidation), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), as well as section 66(d) (cheating by personation using computer resource) of the Information Technology (IT) Act. The case was subsequently transferred to the Anti-Extortion Cell (AEC) for investigation.
Using technical evidence, the police identified the accused’s email ID and contact number, leading them to Gujar’s house in Bundi district, Rajasthan. A police team arrested him from a hostel, informing his uncle about the arrest.
During the court proceedings, the Crime Branch sought the accused’s remand to scrutinise his call data records to determine if he was in contact with gang members and whether he is affiliated with gangster Lawrence Bishnoi. The police also aim to understand his motive for uploading the video, investigate any involvement in the Salman Khan firing case, and examine his previous criminal record.