After calling Bishnoi gang 'petty thugs', Pappu gets death threat

PATNA: Independent MP from Purnia Pappu Yadav , who recently described the Lawrence Bishnoi gang as “petty thugs”, alleged on Monday that he received death threat from the gang. Yadav claimed that the threat came amid his ‘closeness’ to Bollywood actor Salman Khan , whom the Bishnoi gang had earlier targeted.

The threat call, suspected to have been made by jailed gangster Aman Sahu , who claims allegiance to the gang, came on the heels of Yadav attacking Bishnoi in a series of social media posts on Oct 13, a day after NCP neta Baba Siddique’s murder and the Bishnoi gang claiming responsibility for the killing.

While dismissing the Bishnoi gang as a bunch of “insignificant thugs”, Yadav’s social media post had said, “If law permits, I will dismantle the entire network of a cheap criminal like Lawrence Bishnoi within 24 hours.”

On Saturday, Yadav shot off a letter to Union home minister Amit Shah, saying he received the death threat on his mobile phone from a member of the Bishnoi gang. “I am attaching a copy of the threat as evidence. Even after such a big threat to my life, the Centre and the state govt are not paying attention to my security,” he wrote. Yadav, who is provided with Y category security, requested Shah for an upgrade to Z.

The call is said to have been made from a UAE number. Aman Sahu is currently incarcerated in a Ranchi jail while Bishnoi is lodged in Sabarmati Jail.

In an audio clip provided by Yadav to mediapersons, which is still being verified by police, the MP is heard telling the caller that he had not attacked Bishnoi and that his post on X was a “political comment, made like any other political tweet would be, in response to a particular development”.

Calling himself a “seven-time MP in Lok Sabha”, Yadav failed to hold the caller in awe, who shot back saying: “Hum karm bhi karte hain aur kand bhi”, while dismissing his self-endorsement as a veteran politician with a strong retort: “This is of little interest to us.”

“Settle the matter as soon as possible. We considered you our brother, and you have embarrassed us,” the caller added.

The call ended with Yadav assuring the caller, saying, “Aap befikr rahen (Rest assured, there won’t be any problem).”

Police sources said the caller warned Yadav, asking him to stay away from the Salman Khan case and revealed that he was under close surveillance by the Bishnoi gang.

“We are surveying and tracking your locations. Bishnoi bhai paid Rs 1 lakh per hour to block the jammers in Sabarmati Jail to connect with you over a call, and you failed to pick up,” the caller is heard saying in the audio clip.

Purnia SP Kartikeya Kumar Sharma said, “We have heard about the incident through media. Police have been instructed to review the security arrangements of Yadav. Further investigation regarding the threat call is being initiated.” Bihar DGP Alok Raj refused to comment on the issue.

In 2008, Yadav was convicted by a special court in the former MLA Ajit Sarkar murder case of 1998 and sentenced to life imprisonment. He was acquitted in 2013 by the Patna HC.

Yadav recently met Baba Siddique’s son Zeeshan in Mumbai. He also expressed his desire to meet Salman Khan but was unable to do so due to the actor’s busy schedule.