The alleged shooters behind the October 18 firing incident targeting actor Tiger Shroff were initially instructed to target Bollywood actor Aamir Khan, The Indian Express reported, quoting police sources.
The report mentioned the alleged attackers subsequently shifted their focus to Shroff after finding that Khan was difficult to approach.
According to the report, the alleged shooters stayed in Mumbai for nearly a month and conducted reconnaissance of the area where Khan lives, at least three times. However, they reportedly found that the actor was often away on film shoots or remained inside his house for days.
The target was subsequently shifted to Shroff, whom the alleged shooters found more accessible. According to the report, Shroff would turn up for football on most Sundays at a park in Juhu, where the attack took place on October 18.
Police sources were quoted as saying that the alleged plan to target Khan was “in line with” the threats he had received in July, allegedly from the Lawrence Bishnoi gang.
The reported change in target has emerged as the Mumbai Police investigate the shooting at Shroff’s car, which left the actor relatively unhurt but injured his driver and a bystander.
SHOOTERS ALLEGEDLY RECEIVED REAL-TIME UPDATES FROM HANDLERS
In a separate development, police sources told news agency PTI that the three alleged shooters who fled after opening fire at Shroff’s car were receiving real-time updates about the police investigation through news channel coverage.
According to sources in the Mumbai Crime Branch, the alleged shooters were being informed about developments through encrypted Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) messaging applications.
The information allegedly helped them change their escape routes as the investigation progressed.
At one point during their escape, when television channels aired visuals of the attack, one of the primary suspects allegedly received an urgent message, “Tumhare chehre aa gaye hain, nikal jao waha se” (Your faces are out, get out of there), police sources told PTI.
The three accused, Phool Singh (18), Rehan Rahisuddin Ansari (18) and Rithik Mahto (22), were apprehended by the Kota Police in Rajasthan on October 19 while travelling on a train. They were in police custody until October 31.
Digital evidence reportedly showed that Rehan was in constant communication through internet-based applications such as Signal or Zangi, which can be registered without mobile numbers, Crime Branch sources said.
SHOOTERS CHANGED MODES OF TRANSPORT DURING ESCAPE
According to police sources cited by PTI, the alleged handlers relayed media reports about the recovery of the motorcycle used in the attack in Andheri and the suspects’ subsequent train journey.
The information allegedly prompted the three men to repeatedly change their modes of transport. They moved from a motorcycle to a train and then a cab before planning to board a bus from Surat.
However, a delay at the Surat bus terminal eventually led them to board another train, where the Kota Police apprehended them following an alert from the Mumbai Police, sources said.
The shooting took place in Mumbai’s Juhu area on the evening of October 18. At least two men allegedly fired multiple rounds at Shroff’s car before fleeing on a motorcycle. According to Mumbai Police, five to six rounds were fired.
The motorcycle allegedly used in the attack was subsequently found abandoned in Andheri.
TWO FIREARMS RECOVERED IN SURAT, 11 HELD
The investigation also led to the recovery of two firearms and 10 live cartridges from Surat, officials told PTI.
The weapons were allegedly used in the shooting and were sent for forensic examination and ballistic testing to determine whether they matched the empty shell casings recovered from the crime scene.
Separately, a 22-year-old man, Pranjal Thakran, was apprehended in Indore in a joint operation involving the Mumbai Crime Branch and local police, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Rajesh Dandotia told PTI.
Thakran, originally from Sonipat in Haryana, had travelled to Indore five days earlier for the treatment of his paralysed brother.
Police suspected that he had provided logistical, financial or operational assistance to the alleged shooters and key conspirators.
His apprehension took the total number of people held in connection with the case to 11, with arrests reported across Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana.
GANGSTER ANIL PANDIT NAMED AS WANTED ACCUSED
Mumbai Police have named gangster Anil Pandit as a wanted accused in the case. Pandit, an alleged associate of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang believed to be operating from the United States, had claimed responsibility for the October 18 firing in a social media post, according to PTI.
The Mumbai Police have registered a case under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Arms Act for attempt to murder and other offences.
The Crime Branch is continuing its investigation to establish the chain through which the firearms were procured and identify those allegedly involved in supplying weapons and providing logistical support.
