Enhanced security at Salman’s Galaxy

By Team B (PG Journalism)

Mumbai, August 08, 2023: Security at Galaxy, Salman’s residence has been strengthened since March and his fans are feeling the heat. How does one know?

First, there are far fewer fans in attendance than used to be considered normal. Second, people in the area, even shopkeepers, have been told not to speak to anyone about the actor.

One of them, Fardeen, said this was because of the increase in the number of threats the actor was receiving. In March, gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, at present in Delhi’s Tihar jail, demanded an apology from Khan for killing Blackbuck back in 1998.

It will be recalled that this case landed Khan in jail briefly before he got bail. Bishnoi, who belongs to Rajasthan and is part of the community that regards these animals as sacred,  has been charged with 36 separate criminal cases in the states of Chandigarh, Haryana, Punjab, Delhi, and Rajasthan. He has been convicted in 6 cases and acquitted in 9.

In 2018, he issued his first threat to the actor. This year, while out on bail for a medical checkup, he was interviewed by ABP channel. During the interview, he spoke again about the Blackbuck killing and said Salman needed to apologize. At that point, he also issued a threat to the actor.

On March 17, Khan’s assistant received an email from Bishnoi’s aide, asking whether they had seen the interview and reminding him of the threat. The Mumbai police immediately took note and enhanced Khan’s security to Y Plus status.

On seeing us talking to the shopkeeper, Salman’s security guard Sultan, who has been working for him for the last 20 years, asked us, “Lawrence Bishnoi ne bheja hai kya?” He was not smiling.

Most of the people who are there providing services to fans have been there for decades. Pinto, who has been selling water bottles in front of Galaxy for the past 25 years, told us that Khan doesn’t hang out like he used to but he does make an appearance at his birthday and at Eid. He is among the innumerable people allegedly helped by the actor, who has a reputation for generosity. Pinto said that when he moved to Mumbai and started selling water bottles, Salman helped him to set up his stall and gain business.

Recently, because of high security,  he was asked to move his stall to the opposite side of the road.

Everyone keeps an eye on his movements. A local auto driver said Salman’s car is covered with black tinted glass from the sides so one can only spot him from the front as the actor sits on the front seat. Throughout the time we spent there, the guards constantly kept an eye on us and our activities. However, even with tight security around him, his fans show up around his residence just to have a glimpse of him.

Some fans to whom we spoke said that they were excited about Tiger 3 which is releasing this year on Diwali and is the third sequel to his Ek tha Tiger movie.

This report is a team effort of the following: Mansi Bhaktwani, Shruti Jadhav, Khushi Mehrotra, Premsimran Saini, Yukta Sakpal, Mariyam Shaikh, and Ankita Singh.