Mumbai Police arrested three more people from Haryana’s Sonipat district on Wednesday in connection with the October 18 firing at actor Tiger Shroff’s car, taking the total number of arrests to 10, even as investigators found that the alleged shooters had conducted reconnaissance at the homes of A-list actors, before targeting Shroff.
Police said the three newly arrested accused, including Sameer, Jatin and Ankit, allegedly helped plan the attack and arrange weapons and logistical support for the shooters.
Earlier on Wednesday, three key accused, including Phool Singh, Rehan Ansari and Hritik Kumar alias Roshan Ramu Mahto, were brought to Mumbai from Kota in Rajasthan and were produced before a magistrate court, officials aware of the matter said. They have been remanded in police custody till October 31, they said.
The crime branch of Mumbai Police told the court that the attack was allegedly carried out at the behest of Anil Pandit, a suspected operative of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. Police said they needed to recover the weapons, establish the motive and collect electronic evidence, including call records. The three accused were identified through CCTV footage and tracking of the motorcycle allegedly used in the shooting. Two mobile phones had been destroyed, police told the court.
Investigators Say Shroff Was Not the Original Target
{{/usCountry}}Investigators Say Shroff Was Not the Original Target
{{/usCountry}}According to police, interrogation has revealed that Shroff was allegedly not the gang’s original target. The shooters had surveyed Salman Khan’s Bandra (West) residence, Aamir Khan’s home in Khar and Ranbir Kapoor’s residence in Mumbai. The actors, except Ranbir Kapoor, had received threats from the Bishnoi gang earlier, police officers requesting anonymity said.
Shroff was allegedly chosen because he had less security cover than the other actors, whose homes were considered difficult to breach, the officers added.
The two alleged shooters, Phool Singh and Rehan Ansari, both 18 and from Sonipat, had stayed in Mumbai for a month before the firing, police said. They stayed at lodges in Dadar and spent around ₹2 lakh, including on the Bajaj Pulsar motorcycle allegedly used in the attack, they added. Their alleged accomplice, Hritik Kumar alias Roshan Ramu Mahto, is originally from Bihar and was living in Mumbai.
Alleged Weapon Supply and Support
Delhi Police’s Special Cell arrested four people on Tuesday for allegedly supplying weapons to the shooters and helping them. They were identified as Kunal Sanjay, 21, and Sumit Soraliya, 19, both from Sonipat, and Radha Verma, 23, and Babita Rao, 23, originally from Uttar Pradesh. The women were arrested at New Delhi railway station, while the two men were apprehended in Haryana.
According to investigators, Kunal collected a pistol and 20 rounds of ammunition from Amritsar on Pandit’s instructions, with Sumit accompanying him. Kunal then allegedly arranged for Radha and Babita to carry the weapon to Mumbai. They reached Dadar railway station on October 17, where a minor boy allegedly collected the bag containing the firearm near their hotel.
Jatin had accompanied Kunal to Amritsar to collect the pistols allegedly used in the shooting. He later travelled to Mumbai with the shooters, arranged their accommodation and paid them, police said. Ankit allegedly helped with local arrangements, while Sameer was suspected of being involved in the conspiracy and maintaining contact with Pandit.
Investigators are also examining the money trail between the accused and Pandit, a US-based man suspected of links to the Bishnoi gang. Delhi Police said Kunal had recently been released from jail in another criminal case and allegedly received ₹70,000-80,000 for arranging the weapons.
Also read: Tiger Shroff shooting case: Four more arrested for supplying weapons to assailants
Attack and Police Inquiries
Three motorcycle-borne assailants opened fire at Shroff’s car in Mumbai’s Juhu area on October 18. The actor escaped unhurt, while his driver and a bystander were injured. The motorcycle allegedly used in the attack was later found abandoned in Andheri.
Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Police are verifying the backgrounds of Radha, from Sitapur, and Babita, from Azamgarh.
Sitapur SP Ankur Agarwal said, “Radha’s parents told police that she had married around 10 years ago and divorced about five years ago. She had been living in the national capital region and working as a labourer at a private firm.”
Azamgarh SP Anil Kumar said a joint team of Delhi and Mumbai police took Babita into custody from Kotiyar village. “She had worked at a packaging unit two to three years ago,” he said.
The arrests have renewed attention on Uttar Pradesh links in other investigations into interstate gang operations, including the 2024 murder of former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique. Two alleged shooters in that case, Shiv Kumar Gautam and Dharmaraj Kashyap, were from Bahraich. However, investigators have not established a common network linking the cases.
Sonipat commissioner of police Mamta Singh said, “The district police is assisting Mumbai Police with the investigation and arrests.”
(With inputs from Rohit Kumar Singh)