Amitabh Bachchan, Diljit Dosanjh threat email: Hidden link between KBC moment and 1984 riots allegations
New Delhi: Two of the country’s best-known entertainers are back in the crosshairs of a threat. An email sent to Mumbai’s civic body on Friday, days after the shooting incident involving Tiger Shroff, allegedly names Amitabh Bachchan and Diljit Dosanjh. The sender, who identified himself as Smith Johnson, reportedly warned of a grenade attack on Amitabh’s Mumbai residence on October 31 and a suicide attack at Diljit’s concert at Mahalaxmi Racecourse on November 27. It is the second reported threat in less than a year, and neither star has issued a statement yet.
Diljit Dosanjh KBC controversy
Diljit appeared on season 17 of Kaun Banega Crorepati in October 2025, hosted by Amitabh, to draw attention to the devastating Punjab floods. He won Rs 50 lakh and pledged all of it to relief and rehabilitation work. During the show, he touched the host’s feet, and Amitabh embraced him and introduced him as “Punjab da puttar”, The Indian Express reported.
The report further stated that separatist group Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) objected, accusing Diljit of disrespecting victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh violence. It alleged he had “insulted every victim, every widow, and every orphan of 1984 Sikh Genocide.” The group also issued threats against both men, and its chief, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, warned of an attempt to disrupt Diljit’s Australia concert on November 1, 2025.
Amitabh Bachchan 1984 riots allegations
The anger traces back to the violence after then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two of her Sikh bodyguards on October 31, 1984. Some Sikh organisations and individuals accuse Amitabh of inciting attacks on the community, alleging he shouted “Khoon ka badla khoon se lenge” (blood for blood) on television. He has consistently denied it, stated The Indian Express.
The charge resurfaced in 2011, when he was invited to the Virasat-e-Khalsa heritage complex inauguration in Punjab. Amid objections from sections of the Sikh community, the Akal Takht, the highest temporal authority of the Sikh faith, asked him not to attend. In a letter dated November 28, 2011, to then Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh, Amitabh said he had declined the invitation to avoid embarrassment at the event. He pointed to his family’s old ties with the Nehru-Gandhi family and noted that his mother, Teji Bachchan, came from a Sikh family. He wrote that “to allege that I was a part of the crowd that incited them to raise anti-Sikh slogans is a preposterous and blatant lie.”
The Akal Takht deferred his plea indefinitely without clearing him. In 2014, the All India Sikh Students Federation sought a criminal case and urged a boycott of his films and television appearances. A US court also issued a summons in a civil lawsuit alleging human rights violations linked to 1984, though the proceedings did not establish his guilt. In 2015, SFJ sought a judgment in absentia there, alleging he had not responded. These were claims made in civil proceedings.
Diljit Dosanjh Calgary concert
Diljit did not take on SFJ directly at first. In Instagram Stories, he explained his KBC appearance: “I hadn’t gone there to promote any film or song. I went for the Punjab floods… so that the issue could be discussed at the national level and people could come forward to donate,” he wrote in Punjabi. Pro-Khalistan slogans were reportedly raised at his Perth concert, and his Auckland show faced threats of disruption.
In April 2026, he stopped his Calgary concert midway after spotting audience members waving Khalistan flags, and defended his KBC appearance. “If you still have an issue that I sat across from someone on television, then keep waving how many flags you want,” he said. He later wrote on Instagram: “Standing outside and protesting — anyone can do that. But if you try to come inside and harass my fans, that will not be tolerated.”