Mumbai: The Mumbai Crime Branch has traced the sender of a threatening WhatsApp voice note demanding Rs 1 crore from Hindi film star Ranveer Singh, identifying it as reportedly belonging to Harry Boxer, a close associate of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, officials said.
As per the Mumbai Police, the Crime Branch revealed that one of the close associates of the gang, Harry Boxer, reportedly sent a voice note to the actor demanding Rs 1 crore as extortion.
The WhatsApp voice note has been identified as carrying Harry Boxer’s voice, according to the preliminary investigation by the Mumbai Crime Branch. However, officials are still working on additional evidence in connection with the case. The voice note has been sent for forensic examination, and the report is currently awaited.
According to the Crime Branch, the threatening voice note was sent to Ranveer’s manager’s mobile number after the firing incident outside filmmaker Rohit Shetty’s residence.
In the message, money was demanded while issuing threats. Following the threat, Ranveer’s security has been heightened.
The statement of Ranveer’s manager was recorded by the Crime Branch three days ago. The investigation continues.
A VPN network was used to send the threat, and the location traced so far points to a foreign country. Interpol’s assistance is being sought to track the source. Officials are trying to determine which country’s VPN network was active at the time the threat was sent.
Apart from Ranveer, the Crime Branch also recorded the statement of superstar Salman Khan’s brother-in-law and actor Aayush Sharma’s manager. Investigations in both cases are ongoing, and a formal FIR is expected to be registered soon.
On the professional front, Ranveer will soon be seen in the sequel to the blockbuster Dhurandhar. Titled Dhurandhar: The Revenge, the film is slated to release March 19.
Dhurandhar also stars R. Madhavan, Akshaye Khanna, Sanjay Dutt, and Arjun Rampal. Serving as the first instalment of a two-part film series, it centres on a high-stakes covert counter-terrorism operation.
The film follows an undercover Indian intelligence agent who infiltrates Karachi’s criminal syndicates and political power structures in Pakistan in an effort to dismantle a terror network targeting India.
The film’s storyline draws loose inspiration from multiple real-life geopolitical events and conflicts in South Asia, including the 1999 IC-814 hijacking, the 2001 Indian Parliament attack, the 2008 Mumbai attacks, and developments linked to Pakistan’s Operation Lyari.
Dhurandhar 2 resumes with Hamza Ali Mazhari, an Indian undercover agent who has successfully infiltrated Pakistan’s underworld. After taking down Rehman Dakait, Hamza ascends the ranks of power, only to face his most formidable adversary yet Major Iqbal, the ISI mastermind known as Bade Sahab.