Exclusive: After Tiger Shroff firing, at least 2 Bollywood stars get Y-plus security

Mumbai Police has upgraded the security cover of at least two Bollywood A-listers to Y-plus category and stepped up protection for others following the October 18 attack on actor Tiger Shroff and ongoing threats allegedly from the Lawrence Bishnoi gang.

This is part of a wider security review of Bollywood personalities, with multiple agencies examining the threat perception of those already given protection and identifying others who may need fresh cover, officials said.

Measures range from upgrading protection categories— this mainly increases the number of security personnel—to deploying extra manpower without changing the tiers and tracking travel routes. Protection has also been extended to some family members and associates of actors on the gang’s radar.

Shroff was fired at on the evening of October 18 as his car left a football ground near Pushpa Park in Juhu. Three men on a motorcycle fired at least three rounds at the actor; while he was unhurt, his driver and an autorickshaw driver were injured. An audio message attributed to two foreign-based members of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang claimed responsibility for the attack, warning Shroff against working with Salman Khan.

The gang has previously been linked to firing at filmmaker Rohit Shetty’s Juhu residence in February this year, shooting outside Salman Khan’s Bandra building in April 2024, and the killing of former MLA Baba Siddique in October that year.

According to a police source, as part of the fresh review, the cover of one A-lister has been raised from X category to Y-plus, and that of another from Y to Y-plus. This newspaper is withholding the names of the actors and the operational details of the arrangements for security reasons.

When contacted by The Indian Express, a senior Mumbai Police officer declined to elaborate on the arrangements but said police periodically carry out security reviews and maintain communication with those facing threats. “In certain situations, we feel the threat perception is higher at a particular spot so extra men are provided there. If we raise the categorisation per se, it will mean that many officers will have to accompany the star where he/she goes, which may not be needed in certain cases. Hence a decision is taken to either change the category or just provide extra security,” the officer said.

Story continues below this ad

In the case of some A-listers, security is scaled up to Z-category equivalents during fan interactions. Both uniformed and non-uniformed personnel are deployed on such occasions, a source said. Similar precautions are taken whenever these stars step out of their residences, with additional protection during public appearances.

Security has also been strengthened at residences, including Shroff’s, with a bulletproof structure installed at one actor’s home. Actors planning to travel outside Mumbai have also been told to share their proposed route with police for monitoring and to conduct a destination sanitisation exercise in advance, sources said. Local police stations are also alerted to provide necessary cover until the celebrity leaves their jurisdiction.

The security review, which is still underway, covers not only those actors who have directly received threats but also those believed to be close to certain actors who are on the gang’s radar. They have been provided security based on their individual threat perception. Family members of some actors have also been given X-category security, sources said.

Officials said that the security arrangements may be further adjusted based on the final findings.