He sold detergent and filmed stars. Then a bullet meant for Tiger Shroff hit him

For nearly 18 years, Umesh Kumar Chauhan has lived in Mumbai, selling detergent door-to-door to support his family.

For the past one-and-a-half years, the 35-year-old had also been pursuing a dream filming Bollywood celebrities, their homes and the fans who gather outside them, hoping to build an audience online.

On Sunday, that pursuit took him to Juhu’s Pushpa Park, where actor Tiger Shroff had gone to play football. As Chauhan filmed the actor leaving the venue, gunshots rang out and he was hit by a bullet.

Three days earlier, Chauhan had posted a video outside actor Suniel Shetty’s residence. Another, filmed outside Amitabh Bachchan’s home on the actor’s birthday, showed him interacting with fans who had gathered to catch a glimpse of the star.

Raj Tilak Roushan, DCP (Detection), Mumbai Crime Branch, addresses a press conference at the Mumbai Police Commissioner’s Office in Mumbai. (Express Photo by Akash Patil)

His Facebook bio summed up the content he hoped to offer: “Aapko yahan famous place, Bollywood celebrities, aur travel vlog dekhne ko milenge (Youll will get to see famous places, Bollywood celebrities and travel vlogs)”.

On Sunday, Chauhan had gone to Pushpa Park with his friend Kisan Rajbhar, also a vlogger, after learning about Shroff’s visit. They wanted to film the actor arriving, interacting with people and leaving the venue.

“We had gone to shoot at Amitabh Bachchan’s place and, after that, we went to Pushpa Park, where Tiger Shroff plays football. We shot for a long time. When he came out, he interacted with us, spoke to us, and we took pictures and videos of him,” Rajbhar said.

Story continues below this ad

The friends returned to film Shroff leaving. The actor had got into the vehicle with his driver when the firing began, Rajbhar said.

“It sounded like Diwali crackers bursting continuously. I started shouting, ‘Tiger sir has been shot.’ In the middle of all this, Umesh was shot,” he said.

Three accused captured after attack on actor Tiger Shroff in CCTV footage.

Chauhan was initially taken to Cooper Hospital before being transferred to KEM Hospital in Parel around midnight. On Monday, he remained under close observation in the intensive care unit. Doctors said he was stable, with no further bleeding from his liver injury and no damage to his heart or lungs. They decided to continue treatment without immediate surgery.

Meanwhile, Shroff and his driver, Ibrahim Firdous, were taken to Nanavati Max Hospital. Shroff sustained minor abrasions and was discharged. Firdous suffered a bullet injury to his left hand and a fracture of the fourth metacarpal and was to undergo surgery.

Story continues below this ad

Family waits for recovery

Chauhan lives in Mankhurd with his wife, who is eight months pregnant, and their six-year-old son, Arav, a junior kindergarten student.

His relative, Arvind Chaurasia, who lives in Borivali, learnt of the shooting while watching the news on Sunday night.

Two of the three accused arrested on Monday. (ANI)

After confirming Chauhan’s identity with his parents in Uttar Pradesh, Chaurasia visited the hospital. His parents booked train tickets to Mumbai on Monday afternoon.

Story continues below this ad

Chauhan’s wife learnt of the shooting the following morning. “She is eight months pregnant, and the doctor has advised her not to come to the hospital because it could be risky for her,” Chaurasia said.