Left Behind By Shooters, Cops Find Key Lead In Tiger Shroff Firing Case

Mumbai Police are investigating the purchase of a motorcycle on September 11 as a potential lead in the shooting targeting Bollywood actor Tiger Shroff. The motorcycle was traced to the Andheri West area of Mumbai, a day after the shooting incident which took place in the Juhu area. The police are probing whether it was purchased specifically for the attack or had been used earlier to conduct reconnaissance of the area.

According to the police, one of the accused, identified as Hritik, also spelt Ritik and reportedly known as Roshan, was allegedly riding the motorcycle, which appears to be a Bajaj Pulsar 220, while Rehan and Phool Singh were the two men who opened fire. Police are investigating who arranged the vehicle, who carried out the shooting and whether the accused had received instructions or assistance from other individuals.

Mumbai Police have said that all three accused are adults, dismissing earlier reports that one of them was a minor. Deputy Commissioner of Police Raj Tilak Roushan said at a press conference on Monday that one of the accused was 18 years old and the other two were 22.

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How Mumbai Police Tracked The Accused

The three suspects were arrested on Monday morning from a train at Kota railway station in Rajasthan after Mumbai Police tracked their movements following the shooting in Juhu.

According to Kota Superintendent of Police Tejaswani Gautam, the suspects were travelling in the general coach of the Pune-Jaipur Superfast Express when it stopped at the station at 10;17 am. The operation to intercept them was completed in approximately 15 minutes.

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The accused were identified as Hritik alias Roshan, from Begusarai in Bihar, Rehan, from Sonipat in Haryana, and Phool Singh, also from Haryana.

Mumbai Police said approximately 20 special Crime Branch teams had been formed to investigate the shooting. 

DCP Roushan said the motorcycle was traced near Andheri West railway station, after which police followed the suspects' movements towards northern Mumbai and then Surat. Police subsequently established that the men had boarded the Pune-Jaipur Express. 

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Kota city police subsequently handed the three men over to Mumbai Police. 

Links To Lawrence Bishnoi Gang

Police said that Rehan was in contact with Anil Pandit, an associate of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. An unverified social media post claiming responsibility for the shooting has also surfaced since the attack.

An audio recording attributed to Pandit, a 32-year-old gangster from Panipat who is reported to be based in the United States, was widely shared across social media. In the recording, a voice identified as Pandit's claims that Shroff was targeted because he ignored warnings not to work with Bollywood superstar Salman Khan.

The authenticity of the recording has not been independently verified by NDTV.

In the audio, the speaker demands an apology from Salman Khan to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang and the Bishnoi community. The threat is linked to the controversy surrounding the killing of a blackbuck in 1998, an incident in which Khan was allegedly involved. The blackbuck is regarded as sacred by the Bishnoi community.

The voice in the recording also threatens that other members of the film industry close to Khan could be targeted if an apology is not offered.