Mumbai, Dec 13 (IANS): An unidentified person called up the residence of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) President Sharad Pawar and threatened to kill him, party leaders said here on Tuesday.

The caller rang up from an unknown location to the Pawars' Silver Oaks home and threatened in Hindi that he would come to Mumbai and shoot him with a country-made pistol.

As precaution, the NCP leader's security detail has lodged a complaint with Gamdevi Police Station which has started investigations.

Confirming the development, NCP chief spokesperson Mahesh Tapase said that the caller appears to be 'mentally unstable' who keeps calling up the Pawar residence at regular intervals and makes such dire threats.

"He has called up several times in the past few days and issued similar threats. The police have been informed," said Tapase.

The calls came a day after Pawar celebrated his 82nd birthday on Monday with a grand function attended by top leaders of the NCP Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) and other well-wishers.

Even in the past, Pawar has been targeted with such threats, including in May this year, and in April his residence was attacked by striking activists of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation.