The drama of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi’s enmity with actor Salman Khan is getting murkier each day. The gangster recently threatened Salman once again, having sent him multiple threats earlier. The root of this is Salman’s alleged involvement in the killing of a blackbuck in 1998. The animal is considered sacred by the Bishnoi community. Even as Salman has denied the allegations, Lawrence’s cousin has now claimed that the actor tried to end the matter with a ‘blank cheque’ years ago.
Lawrence Bishnoi’s cousin on Salman Khan
In a recent interview with NDTV, Ramesh Bishnoi, cousin of the jailed Lawrence, opened up on the gangster’s feud with Salman Khan. He claimed that after the blackbuck case blew up and the Bishnois condemned Salman, the actor offered them money as compensation. He said that Salman brought an empty chequebook to meet the community leaders, asking them to fill whatever price they wanted in exchange for ending the matter. “If we were after money, we would have accepted it,” Ramesh said.
Addressing Salman’s father, Salim Khan‘s allegation that Lawrence was targetting Salman for monetary gain, Ramesh said that the issue was based on ideology, not money. “Hamara khoon khol raha tha uss waqt (Our blood was boiling at that time), said Ramesh. He added that Lawrence owned 110 acres of land in India and was well off enough that he didn’t need to resort to extortion of any kind.
The blackbuck poaching case
The incident of blackbuck poaching took place in Jodhpur in 1998 when Salman Khan was there to film Hum Saath Saath Hain. Other actors booked with him were Saif Ali Khan, Sonali Bendre, and Neelam Kothari, his co-stars in the film. The case has been ongoing for 25 years, and Salman is currently out on bail, having been convicted. The Bishnoi community, which considers blackbuck sacred, has repeatedly asked Salman to apologise for his actions. The actor’s father, Salim Khan, recently said in an interview with ABP that there was no question of an apology as that would imply Salman is admitting guilt.
