Mr Raut said he notified the Mumbai police about the threat on Friday night.
Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) MP Sanjay Raut today received death threats through text messages on his mobile phone. Speaking to NDTV, Mr Raut said he notified the Mumbai police about the threat on Friday night. The texts were on behalf of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, who is currently in a Punjab jail. The police have arrested one person and are interrogating them about it.
"I received a threat on my phone, and I have informed the police about it. But this government is not serious. I was threatened earlier as well, but the state's Home Minister called it a stunt," Mr Raut said, adding that the state is not serious about the security of opposition leaders.
Calling Raut “Hindu virodhi (anti Hindu)”, the text message read, “Delhi me mil tu ak 47 se uda dunga. Moosewala tyep. Lawrence ke or se msg he soch ke… Salman aur tu Fix. Tyatil karke rakhna (sic).”
Sanjay Raut said it doesn't bother him, and he didn't write any letter when his security was withdrawn.
"Sanjay Raut received death threats stating that he will meet Sidhu Moose Wala's fate. He got the threat from the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. The message said that if you met in Delhi, will kill you with AK-47. He wrote a letter to the police complaining about the matter," the police said.
Mumbai police sources, however, said there is no connection with Lawrence Bishnoi, and the person who sent the message is a young man from Pune who did it under the influence of alcohol.
Mumbai police have arrested the man, 23-year-old Rahul Talekar, who runs a small restaurant in Pune. He has no criminal or political connections, Deputy Commissioner of Police Purushottam Karad said, adding that he first called Mr Raut and then sent the message when he wasn't able to speak to him on the phone.
Police said Rahul confessed that he mentioned Lawrence Bishoi's name because he had watched his videos recently.
Lawrence Bishnoi, a notorious criminal, is said to be the mastermind behind the murder of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala. He has also allegedly threatened the singer's father, Balkaur Singh, and actor Salman Khan.