Pistols used in Tiger Shroff firing recovered near Surat station; supplier arrested

The firearms and ammunition have been sent for forensic examination.

The two pistols used in the October 18 firing on actor Tiger Shroff have been recovered near the Surat railway station even as police arrested the man who supplied one of them to the shooters. Pranjal Thakran, who was picked up in Indore on Saturday, is the 11th accused arrested in the case.

Mumbai Police have stepped up security outside actor Tiger Shroff's Bandra residence in Mumbai. (Satish Bate/Hindustan Times)

Police said the two shooters had tossed the pistols in the bushes near the railway tracks while on the run. They recovered a Turkish Zigana pistol and a country-made pistol, commonly called katta, along with ten live cartridges on Saturday.

The firearms and ammunition have been sent for forensic examination and ballistic testing to match them with the empty shell casings retrieved from the crime scene in Juhu.

After firing at Shroff’s car at close range, the shooters, recruited by the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, took a taxi from Kandivali in Mumbai to Surat. They alighted at a bus stand, from where they proceeded to the railway station. They dumped the weapons near the railway tracks before boarding a train to Delhi, said a police officer. Police were able to recover the pistols as one of the shooters had led them to the spot.

“Thakran was also in touch with Anil Pandit, a close Bishnoi aide who has taken responsibility for the attack on the actor,” an official said. Police suspect he also provided logistical support and financial or operational assistance to the shooters and key conspirators involved in the attack.

The other pistol used in the October 18 firing, a Zigana, was supplied by Kunal Jaminsingh, an accused arrested in Haryana earlier this week. He had sent it to Mumbai with two women couriers, who are also in the custody of the Mumbai police.

Thakran will be brought to Mumbai from Indore on Sunday on a three-day transit remand. He was arrested by the Indore Crime Branch when police learnt he was visiting his brother, who had suffered a stroke, in an Indore hospital.

Meanwhile, police said 36-year-old Shroff is still shaken after the attempt on his life. He has told the police he had not received any threatening calls or messages prior to the attack, and had no idea his life was in danger.

While police are yet to record Shroff’s statement, the actor has told them he was unaware of who his attackers were or who may have hired them. “We will record his statement after he recovers,” said the officer.

With inputs from PTI