Key takeaways
Mumbai's film industry is hiring more bodyguards after recent shootings and extortion threats, reviving fears of 1990s underworld influence. Police attribute the violence to Lawrence Bishnoi's gang, while experts note opportunistic criminals are exploiting established reputations to spread fear.
- Police linked recent violence targeting Mumbai stars to the gang of convicted gangster Lawrence Bishnoi.
- Security demand has increased sharply, expanding protection needs to include family members and children.
- Experts state opportunistic criminals are exploiting established gangster reputations to scare the film industry.
Summarised automatically by AI from the original article by Malay Mail. AI can make mistakes, so check the original for details.
MUMBAI, Nov 13 — It sounds like a Bollywood thriller, but a spate of shootings and extortion threats targeting Mumbai’s stars has sent the industry scrambling for bodyguards, reviving memories of the underworld’s grip on cinema in the 1990s.
From gunshots to cash demands, the incidents have unsettled the Indian industry, decades after police crackdowns weakened the criminal gangs once deeply embedded in the multi-billion-dollar business.
Police have linked the latest violence to the gang of Lawrence Bishnoi, a convicted Indian gangster accused by US prosecutors of directing a global criminal network from behind bars.
“Stars are moving around with bodyguards on either side,” actor and security agency owner Ronit Roy said.
