Alia Bhatt, Mahesh Bhatt get death threats, one person arrested

New Delhi, Mar 2: The Mumbai Police have arrested one person for allegedly sending death threats to filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt and his daughter Alia Bhatt. The suspect had reportedly threatened Mahesh that he will “pump his daughter Alia Bhatt and wife Soni Razdan with bullets” if he doesn’t pay him Rs 50 lakh.

The arrest came after the accused sent his account details to the filmmaker. A senior official said on the condition of anonymity, “The accused messaged his account details. We managed to track him through his mobile phone number. He is in custody.”

Mahesh Bhatt also tweeted, “A bolt from the blue in the form of an extortion call & threat to my family was nipped in the bud by the MH & UP police in tandem.Gratitude!”

According to sources, after Mahesh Bhatt registered a complaint at the Juhu police station, the case was transferred to the Mumbai Police’s Anti-Extortion Cell. After the culprit was identified, he was arrested with the help of the Uttar Pradesh Police.

According to reports, an unidentified person called Mahesh Bhatt and demanded Rs 50 lakh from him. He threatened to kill Alia and Soni if the demanded amount didn’t reach him on time. The phone call was first made on February 26. It has been reported that the man asked Mahesh Bhatt to deposit the money in a Lucknow-based bank branch.

While the film producer initially dismissed it as a prank call, he approached the police after getting WhatsApp from a person who claimed to be a gang leader. The message read, “If you fail to do so, I will fire several rounds of bullets in your daughter Alia and wife Soni.” The man continued to send few more texts to Bhatt after which he stopped. The case was registered under section 387 (causing a person to fear death or grievous hurt, in order to commit extortion).

This is not the first time that Mahesh Bhatt’s family has been targetted. Earlier, in November 2014, he had received threats to his and his family’s life.