A central security agency has received an email threatening to assassinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi and blow up the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad, and demanding Rs 500 crore as well as the release of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, officers said.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) alerted the Mumbai police about the threat email and immediately shared its content with various agencies concerned with the PM’s security, besides the Gujarat Police.
Mumbai police have since stepped up security as the city is set to host five World Cup cricket matches at Wankhede stadium, a police source said. They are also trying to determine the origin of the email, the source added.
On Thursday morning, the city police control room received an alert from the NIA stating that a threat email was received.
The email stated, “Tumhari sarkar se hume 500 crore aur Lawrence bishnoi chahiye nahi to kal hum Narendra Modi ke sath narendra Modi stadium bhi uda denge. Hindustan me sabkuch bikta hai to humne bhi kuch kharid liya hai kitna bhi sequre karlo humse nahi bacha paoge agar baat karni hai to is mail par hi bat karna (We will blow up Narendra Modi and the Narendra Modi stadium if the government does not give us Rs 500 crore and Lawrence Bishnoi. Everything sells in Hindustan, so we too have bought something. No matter how much you secure, you won’t be able to remain safe from us. If you wish to talk, do so on this email).”
Lawrence Bishnoi has been in jail since 2014 and is believed to be operating his gang from inside prison. He faces several cases, including the murder of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala in Punjab. Last year, Bishnoi claimed responsibility for the attack on Moosewala. Previously he had issued threats to release Bollywood actor Salman Khan from prison, claiming that his community was angry with the actor over the blackbuck killing incident.