Was Karan Johar on Lawrence Bishnoi's hit list for extortion?
What's the story
An alleged member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang—Siddhesh Kamble aka Saurabh Mahakal—revealed that filmmaker Karan Johar was a target of the gang's alleged plan of extortion, as per a police officer. However, the officer clarified that the claims made by Mahakal have not been verified by the police yet. They also mentioned that there was an element of bragging in Mahakal's statements.
Statement
Mahakal likely misleading police, was aware of Moose Wala conspiracy
"Mahakal has claimed that the plan was to extort Rs. 5 crore from Karan Johar, but it's possible that Mahakal is just misleading the police," the officer told a publication. Reports suggest Mahakal was a close aide of Santosh Jadhav—a prime suspect in the murder case of Punjabi singer-politician Sidhu Moose Wala. As per the police, Mahakal was aware of the singer's murder conspiracy.
Conspiracy
Vikram Brar apparently discussed plans with Mahakal via Instagram
Mahakal is reportedly being questioned by the Punjab Police, Delhi Police's Special Cell, and Mumbai Crime branch. He revealed information related to the singer's murder conspiracy and named Jadhav and one Nagnath Suryavanshi to have direct links to the killing, as per PTI. He also stated that Vikram Brar, gangster Goldie Brar's brother, had discussed the plans with him via Instagram and Signal apps.
Police
'Brar wants to increase his clout and impress youths'
"With some accused, there is an element of bragging in their confessions. The motive behind bragging is to gain publicity and get bigger extortion amounts," the officer revealed. "Mahakal is a small fish. Vikram Brar told him about Karan Johar. Why Brar told this to Mahakal, who is just a foot soldier? Because Brar wants to increase his clout and impress youths (sic)."
Connection
Why was Mahakal taken into custody in first place?
Kamble aka Mahakal is in the custody of the Pune Rural Police since last week. He was arrested after a case was registered against him over connections to the Moose Wala murder. In addition to this, he has been also detained over connections to a threat letter that was recently issued to actor Salman Khan and his father, screenwriter Salim Khan.