Three suspects held in Kota over firing at Tiger Shroff’s car in Mumbai

Three suspects have been detained in Kota in connection with the firing at the car of actor Tiger Shroff in Mumbai, with police sources saying they allegedly received Rs 50,000 in advance for the attack.

The three were picked up at Kota railway station on the morning of October 19 while travelling on a train from Mumbai to Delhi, in a joint operation involving Mumbai Police, Rajasthan Police and railway police. Kota Superintendent of Police Tejaswini Gautam confirmed that two of the suspects are from Haryana and one is from Bihar. She said their identities had been established and they were being questioned.

A police source identified two of them as Rehan, 18, from Sonipat in Haryana, and Ritik, 22, originally from Begusarai in Bihar. The third is a minor. Investigators are questioning them to establish their individual roles, including whether all three were directly involved in the shooting.

The firing took place around 7 pm on October 18, near Pushpa Narsee Park in Juhu, barely 350 metres from Juhu police station, as Shroff’s car emerged onto the main road after he attended a football session. According to police, two assailants approached the vehicle and fired repeatedly while a third waited on a motorcycle. Shroff, who was seated in the front passenger seat, escaped serious injury. Photographs released after Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde visited him showed dressings on his shoulder and chest and a bandage on his right arm. Shinde said the actor had sustained injuries from gunpowder and glass fragments.

Shroff’s driver, Firdous, was hit by a bullet in his left hand. Despite his injury, he reportedly got out of the car and tried to chase the assailants. Doctors at Nanavati Hospital found a foreign body lodged in his hand, and he is likely to require surgery. Another person was also injured.

An eyewitness, Salma Shaikh, who runs a blog documenting celebrities, said she and other content creators initially mistook the gunshots for Diwali firecrackers. “We heard four or five gunshots. We initially thought they were celebratory shots for Diwali. But when the car stopped and the driver came out injured, we realised what had happened,” she said.

Mumbai Police have also recovered the two-wheeler allegedly used in the attack. It was found abandoned near Andheri railway station. Investigators traced it through CCTV footage from the scene, which led them towards DN Nagar in Andheri West and allegedly showed the assailants heading to the station after leaving the motorcycle. Police suspect the accused boarded a train to escape the city. Mumbai Police alerted their Kota counterparts, who intercepted the three and handed them over to Rajasthan Police.

The arrests follow Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’s assurance that police had identified suspects. Fadnavis also spoke to Shroff and Mumbai Police Commissioner Deven Bharti, directing the police to act swiftly and take strict action against those responsible.

The Lawrence Bishnoi gang has reportedly claimed responsibility for the attack. In social media posts, Anil Pandit, who identified himself as a representative of the group, and Harman Sandhu claimed responsibility. Pandit alleged that Shroff had been warned against working with actor Salman Khan, and threatened others in the film industry who continue to work with Khan. In an audio message shared by the Mumbai Crime Branch, Pandit also demanded that Khan apologise to Lawrence Bishnoi and the Bishnoi community. Police are verifying the authenticity of the posts and the audio message.