Salman Khan's 'threat' to Falcons rocks Maharashtra's legislative council

Following allegations that actor Salman Khan’s bodyguards were harassing the family of a fisherman from Bandra, Bharatiya Janata Party’s legislator Ashish Shelar on Thursday raised the issue in the legislative council.

Shelar took up the issue at the ongoing budget session of the state legislature, a day after six members of the fisherman’s family recorded their statements with the police. The fisherman, Lawrence Falcon, has in his statement alleged that the actor’s bodyguards assaulted womenfolk of his family and also torched their fishing boats docked on the beach near Chimbai village.

This is close to where Khan has purchased two adjacent cottages. The actor allegedly wanted the boats and other fishing paraphernalia moved out as they block the sea view from their home.

Shelar said that the actor had put up tin sheets to fence off the cottages without the maritime board’s permission. “Besides Falcon, I had lodged a police complaint, but the police seem reluctant to take action against the actor,” said Shelar, adding that the chairman of the legislative council has asked the government what action it proposes to initiate in the matter.

Falcon has also alleged that officials of the civic body are working at the behest of the Khans. He alleged that the civic officials had torn down a makeshift shed erected for the boats and had damaged plastic sheets used to cover the fishing vessels.

“We’ve been mooring the boats on this stretch for generations. How can Salman Khan and his father ask us to move our boats,” asked Falcon.

Falcon’s daughter-in-law, Marikin, told DNA that their statements had been recorded by assistant commissioner of police (Bandra) Suresh Marathe.

Additional commissioner of police (western region) Vishwas Nangre-Patil had ordered a probe into the matter and a report is scheduled to be submitted in a week’s time.

Marathe said that the inquiry was still on. “For now, we have not sent summons to Salman Khan or his bodyguard,” said Marathe.

President of Perry Road Residents’ Association Anil Joseph said that the police must probe the role of not only the bodyguards but also of the actor and his father.

Repeated attempts to contact assistant municipal commissioner Prashant Sapkale did not yield any response.

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