Dawn Images

Bollywood actors Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar and Anupam Kher have reportedly had to take their safety measures up a notch after receiving threats to their lives.

According to Hindustan Times, the Maharashtra government has upgraded the security for each actor after an internal assessment revealed threats to them. As per reports, Khan will be given Y+ security cover which, according to The Quint, means he will have a total of 11 personnel for security, including one or two commandos. Five of them will be stationed at his residence (one commando, four constables) and three Personal Security Officers (PSOs) will stay with him. The PSOs are deployed on a rotation basis in three shifts (meaning one PSO with the assigned person at a time). Former Indian cricket captain MS Dhoni has also been given this level of security.

Kumar and Kher will be given X category security, which means they will be assigned two armed personnel each at all times. No commandos are provided. The cost of the extra caution will be borne by the celebrities.

The Bajrangi Bhaijaan actor and his father, producer and screenwriter Salim Khan, received a threatening letter in June. According to Indian media, the letter threatened to kill them the way rapper Sidhu Moose Wala was killed earlier this year. This implied that the same people, purportedly the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, are after Khan now. An FIR was registered and the Mumbai police arrested multiple gangsters from Bishnoi’s gang, many of whom confessed to targeting Khan.

The security measures for the Radhe actor included regular police protection up till now. New developments were made in the case when investigations in Mumbai, Punjab and Delhi in the last few months revealed that gangsters Bishnoi and Goldy Brar had planned to kill Khan in Mumbai. Reports suggested that it had been attempted twice — once outside his Bandra home during his birthday celebration in 2017 and once at his Panvel farmhouse in 2018.

According to the report, Kher’s received upgraded security cover because the release of his film The Kashmir Files was followed by death threats. Kumar was granted security based on social media threats over his nationality.