Seven people have now been arrested in connection with the firing at Bollywood actor Tiger Shroff's car in Mumbai, as investigators trace an alleged weapons supply chain from Amritsar to Mumbai and probe links to the Lawrence Bishnoi criminal network.
According to IANS, the Delhi Police Special Cell arrested four more suspects on October 20 — Kunal, 21, and Sumit, 19, from Haryana's Sonipat district, and Radha, 23, and Babita, 23, from Uttar Pradesh — for allegedly arranging and transporting the weapon. Three alleged shooters had earlier been arrested in Kota, Rajasthan, and brought to Mumbai for questioning by the Crime Branch's Anti-Extortion Cell.
Investigators allege that on the instructions of a man identifying himself as Anil Pandit, Kunal collected a pistol and 20 rounds from a prearranged dead-letter-box location in Amritsar, Particle News reports. The weapon was then allegedly transported to Mumbai by the two women, who handed a bag containing it to a minor boy near Dadar railway station. The shooting took place on the evening of October 18 in Juhu, where three shots were fired at Shroff's car as he left a football ground; the actor escaped unhurt while his driver was injured.
Police are analyzing forensics, phone records and encrypted-app data, and are questioning figures tied to Lawrence Bishnoi, including Randeep Malik, as they work to establish the full chain of command and motive, according to The North News. A video in which a man claiming to be Anil Pandit took responsibility for the attack and warned film industry figures working with Salman Khan could be targeted is also under examination.
Kunal had been released from Sonipat jail on bail in July before allegedly being recruited by Pandit through a friend, according to Khel Ja. Police say Pandit paid between Rs 70,000 and Rs 80,000 for the weapons run, with the two women receiving a fraction of that sum. All suspects are on transit remand as investigators map the full chain of command and assess threats to other film personalities.
Photo: Tiger Shroff in 2019 — Bollywood Hungama, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.