3 men who fired at Tiger Shroff arrested

Photo: collected

Indian police arrested three suspects allegedly tied to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang over the shooting attack on actor Tiger Shroff.

The trio was intercepted on a train at Rajasthan's Kota railway station. Two of the men—including a 17-year-old minor and 18-year-old Rehan—are from Sonipat, Haryana, while the third is 22-year-old Hritik Kumar (alias Roshan) from Bihar, who worked in Mumbai as a Rapido rider.

Investigators believe two of them carried out the attack, with the third assisting in their getaway.

A joint team of the Rajasthan Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) and Kota City Police nabbed the three shooters based on information provided by Mumbai Police. The accused were caught while travelling on the Pune-Jaipur Express.

Earlier, the first images of the shooters had emerged as Mumbai Police intensified their search for the accused.

One of the close-up images showed two men standing together, with one of them wearing a black cap.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the three accused were nabbed in Rajasthan after Mumbai Police shared information about their movements with Rajasthan Police. 

He said the accused had fled towards Surat before boarding the Pune-Jaipur Express and were eventually caught at Kota railway station.

"We have nabbed them from Rajasthan. They fled towards Surat. They took a Pune-Jaipur Express train. Mumbai Police shared info with Rajasthan Police and thats how Rajasthan Police nabbed them. Rajasthan Police arrested them from Kota station," Fadnavis said.

According to news agency ANI, investigating agencies suspect that the attack was carried out by trained shooters who had conducted a recce of the actor's movements before carrying out the attack.

Sources said the assailants had planned the attack after monitoring Tiger Shroff's weekly routine. They knew that the actor regularly visited the Juhu football ground on Sundays and tracked his movements to time the attack as he was leaving the venue in his car.

After the firing, the shooters allegedly followed a pre-planned escape route along SV Road through Vile Parle and Andheri.

They abandoned their motorcycle near Andheri West railway station and boarded a train towards Borivali.

Preliminary intelligence indicated that the suspects later crossed the Maharashtra border and entered neighbouring Gujarat in an attempt to evade law enforcement, ANI reported.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has warned that gang violence will not be tolerated in Mumbai, saying those behind the firing on Bollywood actor Tiger Shroff would face a strong response.

Shinde visited Shroff at his residence in Mumbai's Bandra area late Sunday night following the firing. He checked on the 36-year-old actor's health, spoke to his concerned family and assured them that adequate security would be provided.

The firing took place in Mumbai's Juhu area on Sunday evening when unidentified assailants targeted Shroff's car. The actor escaped without injuries, while his driver and another person were injured.

The Lawrence Bishnoi gang has claimed responsibility for the attack through a social media post that has gone viral. However, police have not yet verified the authenticity of the claim.

After meeting Shroff, Shinde told reporters that criminal networks needed to be uprooted again, referring to action taken against gangs during the 1990s.

"Their roots were dug up in the 1990s when gang wars had flourished. The time has come to uproot them in the same way again," he said.

Responding to a question about the firing on Shroff's car, Shinde warned that such attacks would be met with a forceful response.

"It will be tit for tat, bullets for bullets," he said.

Source: NDTV