Mumbai:
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde met actor Tiger Shroff this morning after last night's scare when armed men fired at the 36-year-old actor's car in Mumbai. His driver was injured and hospitalised.
The so-called Lawrence Bishnoi gang based in the US that had claimed responsibility for attacks on other actors including Salman Khan also openly announced that it had targeted Shroff.
The actor, however, has no clue why anybody would even think of doing that since he had received no threat and had no animosity with anyone, people familiar with the matter said, adding the actor told the same to Shinde when they met.
During the meeting, Shroff told the deputy chief minister that he usually took photos with fans after his weekend football games. He was tired yesterday and so he skipped the session in what would turn out to be a lucky decision that saved him, sources said.
The actor told Shinde that he had absolutely no idea why he was linked with anything that had got to do with either the Lawrence Bishnoi gang or actor Salman Khan, sources said.
After the meeting, Shinde spoke with Mumbai Police Commissioner Deven Bharti and the actor's father, Jackie Shroff, and assured all possible help. The authorities will arrange personal security guards for Shroff and stronger police protection at his house, sources said.
Shinde told reporters that the time had come to uproot criminal networks once again, referring to the crackdown on gangs in 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.
On his reaction to the firing at Shroff's car, the deputy chief minister added, "It will be tit-for-tat, bullets for bullets."
"The safety of citizens is our priority. Why are celebrities being threatened deliberately? The police will go to the root of the matter and destroy these gangs. We will not tolerate gang wars in Mumbai. We will respond in kind," he said.
The Lawrence Bishnoi gang has sent one of its 'representatives' named Anil Pandit to share a message behind the murder attempt. Pandit, who is suspected to be operating from the US, said the gang had warned Shroff against working with actor Salman Khan, who has long been a target, but the younger actor did not listen to them.
Pandit, 32, was originally from a village in Panipat. He had a passport and left the country in 2023 to go to Canada. After coming in touch with Randeep Malik, a gangster associated with Lawrence Bishnoi, he reached California in the US and allegedly joined the Lawrence Bishnoi gang.