Hours after the arrest of three henchmen of fugitive don Dawood Ibrahim by Delhi Police from Bulandshahr, UP Shia Central Shia Waqf Board chairman Waseem Rizvi shot off a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding more security perceiving threat to his life from hardline Muslim clerics.

In his two-page letter to the Prime Minister, Rizvi said that Dawood’s henchmen have already threatened him over phone and the arrest of three of his henchmen from Bulandshahr proved his point.

“Several hardline Muslim clerics, including All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) members Sajjad Nomani and Hyderabad MP Asauddin Owaisi and clerics of Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband, have openly threatened me for my stand in supporting Ram temple at Ayodhya and questioning the madarsas which have turned into a training ground for terrorists,” he claimed.

The letter, which was also released to the media on Friday, said that after the threat call from Dawood gang, the state government has deployed two cops for his security. “The two personnel are not enough to protect me against such dreaded mafia, hence my security be reviewed immediately and stepped up,” he said.

On Thursday night, the Special Cell of Delhi Police nabbed three Dawood aides from Bulandshahr and were suspected to target and kill Rizvi. The arrested were identified as Arif, Abrar and Saleem and they were in touch with Pakistan-based Dawood Ibrahim. No further details were given by the Delhi cops and the arrested were taken to New Delhi for quizzing.

In January last, Rizvi had lodged an FIR with Hassanganj police in Lucknow after he received a threat call from Nepal for supporting Ram temple construction at Ayodhya and criticising Madarsa Board. Later, the UP Police enhanced Rizvi’s security and lodged a case against Dawood.