Tiger Shroff shooting investigators suspect a planned attack after three alleged shooters were arrested on a train in Kota while attempting to flee towards Nepal, Mumbai Police said. The actor escaped unhurt after assailants fired at his BMW in Juhu on Sunday, although his driver-caretaker and a bystander were injured.
The accused were identified as Phool Singh Naresh and Rehan Rahiussudin Ansari, both 18 and residents of Sonipat in Haryana, and Hrithik Kumar alias Roshan, 22, who moved to Mumbai from Begusarai in Bihar four years ago. Police said the three were arrested from a train in Rajasthan on Monday morning as they attempted to travel via Jaipur and Delhi towards Nepal.
Investigators suspect that the firing may have been an attempt to kill Shroff. According to police sources cited in the report, one of the shooters’ weapons jammed during the incident, preventing further firing. Five rounds were fired at the actor’s BMW, with two rounds falling to the ground after the weapon malfunctioned.
Shroff was seated in the front passenger seat when a bullet struck his driver-caretaker, Firdaus Baloch, on the left hand. Another bullet hit Umesh Chauhan, a bystander and content creator. The actor was not injured.
A Juhu police team and forensic experts examined the BMW at Santacruz police station on Monday. The panchnama found three bullet impacts on the left side of the windscreen. Two bullets entered the vehicle, one hit the bonnet and another struck Chauhan, according to the report.
Police suspect that Anil Pandit, who is allegedly linked to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, had promised the three men jobs and assistance in settling abroad after they carried out the attack. The claim is part of the investigation and has been attributed to Mumbai Police.
After the firing, the suspects allegedly travelled to Andheri station and abandoned a motorcycle they had bought a week earlier for Rs 25,000. The ownership transfer of the motorcycle was still pending. They then took an aggregator cab to Surat station before boarding an unreserved coach of the Pune-Jaipur Express, a Juhu police officer said.
Tejaswini Gautam, superintendent of police in Kota, said no firearm had been recovered from the accused at the time of their arrest. The reported escape route and the abandoned motorcycle are now part of the interstate investigation into the attack.
Mumbai Police has provided additional security to Shroff. The actor has denied receiving any threat call. The next steps in the case will include the investigation into the alleged motive, the source of the firearms and the role of those suspected of facilitating the accused’s travel.
