Mumbai: The Lawrence Bishnoi gang has escalated its threats following a second round of gunfire at comedian Kapil Sharma’s café, “Caps Café,” in Surrey, Canada. On Friday, the gang released an audio clip allegedly from Bishnoi’s close aide, Harry Boxer, claiming responsibility for the attack and linking it to Bollywood star Salman Khan’s appearance on the opening episode of Sharma’s Netflix show.

The incident occurred on Thursday when assailants fired at least 25 rounds at the café. The gang asserts the attack was in direct retaliation for Kapil Sharma inviting Salman Khan to launch “The Great Indian Kapil Show” Season 2.

In the menacing audio, Boxer warns: “Whoever works with Salman Khan will be finished by the Bishnoi gang — they will be killed.” He declared there would be no further warnings, stating that next time “bullets will be fired straight at the chest.” The message also vowed to unleash unprecedented chaos in Mumbai, specifically naming producers, directors, and actors as potential targets. “Anyone collaborating with Salman Khan will be responsible for their own death,” the voice threatened.

Following the release of the clip, Mumbai Police moved into high alert. The Crime Branch has begun investigating the recording while increasing security at Kapil Sharma’s Oshiwara residence. Multiple officers have been deployed outside his apartment complex, with regular patrols in the area. CCTV footage from the vicinity is being reviewed for suspicious movements.

Sources confirmed Crime Branch officers visited Sharma’s home on Friday to question him about the threats. This was not their first interaction with the comedian. After the café was targeted for the first time in July, police had asked Sharma whether he had received extortion calls or threats from the Bishnoi gang — a claim he had denied at the time.

The second attack, combined with the new audio warning, has prompted authorities to investigate whether Bishnoi gang members have been conducting surveillance near Sharma’s home or shooting locations. Sources suggest that Sharma has now filed a formal complaint with local police, although he has not made a public statement.

The Bishnoi gang had also posted on social media on Thursday, taking responsibility for the Surrey shooting hours before the audio surfaced.

Kapil Sharma remains one of India’s most prominent entertainers. Host of the hugely popular The Kapil Sharma Show and its Netflix spin-off The Great Indian Kapil Show, he is regarded as the country’s highest-paid Hindi comedian. He first rose to fame in 2007 after winning The Great Indian Laughter Challenge Season 3, later making his Bollywood debut with Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon (2015), followed by Firangi (2017) and Zwigato (2023).

Mumbai: Three traders from Zaveri Bazaar are alleged to have defrauded many individuals by guaranteeing substantial returns on their investments in the gold industry. They reportedly put in around Rs 44 crore into Dabba Trading, which included 36 kg of gold and nearly Rs 10 crore in cash.

When encountering losses, the traders stated that the business was struggling. A report was lodged at Lokmanya Tilak Marg police station regarding these traders. A trader located in the western suburbs with a shop in Zaveri Bazaar knew Ladulal, Pallav, and Shubham, who were recognized in the neighborhood for their business activities.

They persuaded the trader to invest, guaranteeing profitable returns via various business strategies, initially drawing in approximately Rs 2 crore in capital. A profitable return enhanced the trader’s confidence, prompting further investments of 36 kg of gold and Rs 10 crore.

When returns stopped, the trader looked for reasons, and although he received cheques from multiple accounts, none were dishonoured. Following the inquiry, it became evident that the three individuals had incurred losses of Rs 44 crore in dabba trading, leading the trader to complain.

Dabba trading is an unlawful activity conducted outside the stock exchange, without proper registration and regulation, resulting in significant losses for investors and tax evasion for the government, while misleadingly asserting greater returns than legitimate stock market investments.

Maharashtra Congress workers staged a protest in Mumbai against the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday, echoing Rahul Gandhi’s fresh allegations of large-scale electoral fraud.

Yesterday, the former Congress president claimed that democracy in India was under threat and called for judicial intervention. He alleged that between the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections in Maharashtra, over one crore new voters were added to the rolls in just five months, a spike larger than the addition made in five years.

CCTV Footage Destruction Raises Eyebrows

Gandhi also accused the ECI of destroying CCTV footage from polling booths, despite questions over a suspicious surge in voting after 5.30 PM in certain areas. He alleged this was part of a cover-up, as Congress workers stationed at booths reported no such spike in voter turnout.

According to Gandhi, the Election Commission has refused to provide the voter list in an accessible format, instead handing over stacks of printed paper — deliberately formatted to block Optical Character Recognition (OCR) scanning.

“This is why we are being given data like this — so it is not analysed,” he said, adding that his team spent six months manually checking records for just one constituency.

Karnataka Example: “Vote Chori” in Mahadevapura

To highlight his claims, Gandhi cited findings from the Mahadevapura Assembly constituency in Karnataka. He alleged over one lakh fraudulent votes were cast in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls there, including:

11,965 duplicate voters

40,009 fake/invalid addresses

10,452 bulk voters (same address)

4,132 invalid photos

33,692 misuse of Form 6

In Bangalore Central Lok Sabha seat, Congress won six out of seven segments but lost Mahadevapura by over 1,14,000 votes — a margin Gandhi says was inflated by “vote chori.”