One of the three young men who mounted a near-fatal attack on Tiger Shroff on Saturday night had been working in Mumbai as a bike-taxi rider. The actor's driver and a bystander were injured in the shooting, but Shroff, the main target of the attack, escaped unharmed.
The Mumbai Police have arrested Rehan alias Sukka, son of Raheesuddin, aged 18 years and a resident of Idgah Colony, Sonipat, Haryana; Hrithik Kurmi alias Roshan Fighter, son of Ramu Mahto, aged 22 years, a resident of Piprahi, Begusarai, Bihar; and Phool Singh, also 18, from Rajasthan's Kota while boarding a train to Delhi. Police said the trio had planned to escape to Nepal via Delhi.
Hrithik reportedly worked as a Rapido driver. He did reconnaissance of Shroff's house under the pretext of riding a bike taxi. He was waiting on his motorcycle just meters from the other two men when they opened fire at the actor's car.
Videos of the daring assassination attempt show two men indiscriminately firing on the front side of Tiger Shroff's car. One of the attackers pointed directly towards the seat where Shroff had been sitting and squeezed the trigger. Luckily, the gun jammed. Within seconds of the trio escaping the scene, Shroff switched places with the driver and drove him to the hospital.
Rapido reacted to the revelation, saying the attacker had not been active on the platform since October 14.
Also read: All 3 Shooters In Tiger Shroff Firing Caught From Rajasthan's Kota
"We are deeply concerned by the incident involving Mr. Tiger Shroff and his team, and we are relieved that he is safe. We wish him a swift recovery. We are aware of media reports mentioning an individual registered as a captain on the Rapido platform. He has not been active as a captain on our platform since 14th October. As is common in India's larger gig economy, individuals may be registered with several platforms at the same time. On the day of the incident, the individual had used Rapido's services as a customer," a company spokesperson said.
"We are in constant touch with the authorities and are supporting them in their investigation. We responded promptly and have shared all the information requested from us. Rapido has zero tolerance for violence or criminal activity, and we will continue to extend our full cooperation," it added.
Anil Pandit of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang has claimed responsibility for the attack. The Kota Police said Rehan, a labourer, had been in touch with the US-based gangster.
READ | How Mumbai Cops Tracked Down 3 Men Who Fired At Tiger Shroff Within 24 Hours
The Mumbai Police revealed how they zeroed in on the accused.
"There were 3 people on a bike; two of them fired and then fled on the bike. Around 20 special teams of the Crime Branch were formed. On the basis of fieldwork and technical analysis, the bike was traced near Andheri West Railway Station. On the basis of CCTV footage and other technical analysis, we found out the path of the three. It was found that they had headed toward northern Mumbai and left for Surat. We then found out that they had left on the Pune-Jaipur Express. We found out which compartment they were on and informed Kota Police. The Kota Police nabbed them," said the deputy commissioner of police, Raj Tilak Roushan.
He said neither of the three accused was a minor, and that Shroff had never received threat calls before the attack.
He added that five to six rounds of bullets had been fired at Tiger Shroff's car.
Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde met the actor, who had a bandaged arm and a portion of his chest.