Three men accused in the firing at actor Tiger Shroff’s car in Mumbai were arrested on a train at Kota railway station while allegedly travelling from Mumbai towards Delhi, according to details reported by the Anti-Gangster Task Force and Rajasthan Police. The arrests followed a search operation that extended from Mumbai into Gujarat and Rajasthan.
The accused were identified as Phool Singh, 17, from Sonipat district in Haryana; Hrithik Kumar alias Roshan, 22, who works as a Rapido rider and had been living in Andheri West; and Rehan, 18, also from Sonipat district. Police said the three were allegedly absconding after the shooting.
Unidentified assailants opened fire at Shroff’s car at about 7pm on Sunday as he was leaving a football club in Juhu. Shroff did not suffer direct gunshot injuries, but his driver was injured. Deputy Commissioner of Police Mohit Garg confirmed that the vehicle had been targeted while the actor was leaving the club premises.
Investigators suspect that the attackers had tracked Shroff’s movements and were familiar with his regular Sunday visits to the football ground. According to sources cited in the report, the suspects allegedly conducted a recce of the area before the incident. The police theory is that the accused fled along SV Road through Vile Parle and Andheri after the shooting.
The suspects reportedly abandoned their motorcycle near Andheri West railway station before boarding a train towards Borivali. Investigators suspected that they then crossed into Gujarat while attempting to evade the police. Three to four Mumbai Crime Branch teams were conducting raids at suspected locations before the arrests were made at Kota railway station.
The case was registered against three unidentified persons under Sections 109(1) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Sections 3 and 25 of the Arms Act. The arrests will now form part of the investigation into the alleged planning, movement and execution of the attack.
Security was also tightened outside actor Salman Khan’s residence at Galaxy Apartments in Bandra after the incident. Police personnel wearing bulletproof jackets and police vehicles were deployed outside the building.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde visited Shroff’s residence on Sunday night. He said the actor had sustained injuries to his left hand from gunpowder and glass fragments, and that Shroff and his mother, Ayesha Shroff, were shaken by the incident. Shinde said strict action would be taken and that threats against public figures would not be tolerated.
The arrests at a railway station in Kota mark the latest operational step in the investigation. Police action will continue to establish the roles of the three accused and the circumstances surrounding the firing.
