The Bishnoi community stands behind gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, asserted his cousin Ramesh Bishnoi, calling on actor Salman Khan to apologise to the community over the black buck hunting case. "Salman Khan should apologize. His family is playing with our religious sentiments. If Salman Khan does not apologize, the law will do its job," Ramesh told NDTV.
Salman Khan was accused of hunting a black buck - considered sacred by the Bishnoi community - during the shooting of 'Hum Sath Sath Hain' in Jodhpur in 1998. He was found guilty by the Rajasthan High Court in 2018 and sent to five years in jail. He had challenged the verdict in the Supreme Court and was later granted bail.
Lawrence Bishnoi, who has been in jail since 2015 facing multiple criminal charges, had declared in a court in 2018 that he wanted to kill the actor over hurting the community's sentiments. Salman Khan had received multiple threats in the past few weeks - allegedly from Bishnoi gang members - after which security was heightened at the actor's apartment and farmhouse.
Ramesh said every member of the Bishnoi community was angry when the blackbuck incident happened, and is ready to make sacrifices to save animals.
Read | "Made A Mistake": Man Behind Latest Threat To Salman Khan Apologises
"Our society loves wildlife and trees. Our 363 ancestors have given their lives to save trees. When Salman Khan killed the black buck, every Bishnoi's blood was boiling. We left it to the court to decide. But if the community was made fun of, then it is natural for the society to get angry, Today the entire Bishnoi community stands with Lawrence in this matter," he said.
Ramesh claimed Salman Khan had earlier offered money to the Bishnoi community, but they refused to take it.
"His father Salim Khan has said that the Lawrence gang is doing this for money. I want to remind him his son brought a cheque book in front of the community, saying fill in the figures and take it. If we were hungry for money, we would have taken it at that time," he said.
He asserted that Salman Khan was found guilty in the black buck case, whereas the court is yet to find Lawrence guilty in the charges against him.
"Salman Khan is guilty. He has been sentenced to 5 years. He has gone to the Supreme Court against the order. Has any crime been proven against Lawrence in any court? He will be considered a criminal only when the court proves him guilty," said Rames.
Read | Salman Khan Gets Fresh Threat: 'Pay ₹ 5 Crore To End Enmity With Bishnoi'
On a member of the Bishnoi gang claiming responsibility in the Baba Siddique murder case, Ramesh said it will be clear only after a probe if Lawrence was involved. He also denied Lawrence Bishnoi's involvement in extortion cases, saying the family is wealthy and wouldn't demand ransom in his name.
"Nothing has been proven so far. Lawrence has 110 acres of land. He has two brothers who are landlords. If it was for money, would the person who has 110 acres of land do such a thing? Other people are demanding ransom in his name. He is not doing this," said Ramesh.
Lawrence was good with studies and even secured a scholarship, said Ramesh, adding that they still can't believe he could become a big gangster.
He said the last time he met Lawrence, the gangster told him he was being framed. "The last time I met him was at the Abohar court. I met him for only 5 minutes. I told him to shun this path, he said he was being framed and no one was listening to him," he said.