ENS

Mumbai, Dec 12: The success of Shah Rukh Khan’s Om Shanti Om has an unexpected fallout. After the movie set cash registers ringing, Khan is said to have received extortion calls from gangster Bunty Pandey.

Khan was reportedly told to cough up Rs 2 crore. He received several phone calls in the last few days from Pandey, it’s learnt. Pandey, the police have found out, has sent six goons to "speak" to Khan personally.

Khan informed the Crime Branch of the Mumbai police and its Anti-Terrorist Squad of the calls from the gangster.

The Crime Branch and ATS officers, who heavily rely on wiretap surveillance, have managed to eavesdrop on Pandey’s plans and have put teams on the trail of the gangsters. The police have also discreetly stepped up security around Khan’s bungalow, Mannat, at Bandra’s Band Stand.

When contacted, Khan’s secretary said he was away on a shoot and wouldn’t be available for comment. When specifically asked about the threat, she said, “I am not aware of any threat or increase in security at Mannat”. Senior police officers, too, were not available for comment.

Khan had earlier received threats from Abu Salem while he was returning from Khandala after the shooting of Dil To Pagal Hai. Salem wanted him to act in a movie produced by an acquaintance and was upset over Khan’s refusal.

Narayan Prakash ‘Bunty’ Pandey was with Chhota Rajan before he broke away to set up his own team which includes Bharat Nepali and Ajay Mohite. It targets Bollywood for income, just as Abu Salem did.