The men accused of firing at actor Tiger Shroff in Mumbai on Sunday allegedly disguised themselves as tourists, hopping into auto-rickshaws to scout celebrity residences in Bandra and Juhu before turning
their attention to the actor’s regular football ground, police sources said on Wednesday.
The accused allegedly told auto-rickshaw drivers that they wanted to visit actors’ homes and take photographs, a cover that allowed them to move around celebrity neighbourhoods without attracting suspicion. The use of auto-rickshaws also helped them navigate Mumbai and locate addresses more quickly, as drivers were familiar with the city’s landmarks, sources said.
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Investigators believe the men initially explored the possibility of targeting other high-profile actors—Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, and Aamir Khan—but concluded that carrying out attacks at their residences would not be easy. They allegedly shared photographs and videos of the locations they surveyed with gangster Anil Pandit, who is linked to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, seeking his guidance on their next move.
FROM CELEBRITY HOMES TO TIGER SHROFF’S FOOTBALL GROUND
According to police sources, the accused roamed around several areas of Bandra and Juhu in auto-rickshaws while posing as tourists. They allegedly used the pretext of sightseeing and photographing celebrity homes to obtain information about their locations.
The photographs and videos captured during the reconnaissance were subsequently shared with Pandit, sources said.
After surveying the neighbourhoods, the accused allegedly concluded that targeting A-list actors at their residences would be difficult. They then turned their attention to Shroff after learning that he regularly visited a football ground in Juhu on Saturdays and Sundays.
The accused allegedly reached the ground on October 11, hoping to find the actor there, but Shroff did not turn up that day. They returned on October 18, this time allegedly carrying weapons. The firing incident took place near the Juhu location, with investigators now examining the reconnaissance and planning that preceded the attack.
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Police sources also said another person had travelled from Haryana to Mumbai, conducted reconnaissance and then left the city.
TWO PISTOLS USED, WEAPONS DUMPED AFTER FIRING
Investigators have also established, according to police sources, that both a foreign-made pistol and a country-made pistol were used in the shooting.
The weapons were allegedly discarded at an undisclosed location as the perpetrators fled Mumbai after the incident. Mumbai Police is now attempting to recover both pistols, which could provide crucial forensic evidence and help investigators establish the sequence of events.
THE WEAPONS SUPPLY TRAIL
Earlier findings in the investigation pointed to an alleged weapons supply chain stretching across states. According to police sources, the firearms were collected from a pre-arranged location in Amritsar through a method described as a ‘dead letter box’—a designated spot where weapons or other items are left for collection without the people involved necessarily meeting.
Kunal and Sumit allegedly travelled to Amritsar to retrieve the weapons after receiving the location from Pandit. They reportedly did not know who had originally deposited the firearms there.
Investigators are probing the roles of those allegedly involved in procuring and transporting the weapons, as well as the links between the supply chain and the men who carried out the reconnaissance and firing.
