A man who allegedly facilitated contact between the three shooters in the firing incident involving Bollywood actor Tiger Shroff and Anil Pandit, a California-based operative of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, has been arrested from Haryana’s Sonipat.
The accused has been identified as Sameer.
The latest arrest takes the total number of people in custody to six. Shooters Phool Singh, Rehan and Hrithik Kumar were arrested from Rajasthan’s Kota on Monday, while two others have also been detained, including one picked up from the Maharashtra-Gujarat border.
The three men, currently being held under tight security at the Kota Railway Colony police station, will be taken to Mumbai today.
According to information, Rehan was lured with Rs 35,000 and the promise of settling abroad. He has previous cases registered against him under the Arms Act and for theft. Rehan and Phool Singh had earlier attempted to shoot a businessman in Amritsar, but the pistol failed to fire.
The two had been staying in Mumbai for around a month, where they were introduced to Hrithik, who was familiar with the city’s streets. He was also lured with the promise of a good job and an opportunity to settle abroad.
Pandit sent money to the trio online to fund their leisure activities. They would order money through a shop and withdraw it in cash.
The communication between Pandit and the trio took place through the Jaggi app, which does not require users to provide identification.
The weapons were not delivered to the three accused in person. Instead, they received a message informing them that the weapons had been left near a garbage bin and instructing them to collect them from there.
Police suspect that Sameer is in contact with some people in Mumbai and are expected to gather further information about them as part of the investigation.
WHO IS ANIL PANDIT?
Anil Pandit, suspected of operating the Lawrence Bishnoi gang’s activities from the US and Canada, has been linked to the attack on Tiger Shroff.
In an audio clip that surfaced on Monday, a man identifying himself as Pandit claimed responsibility for the attack and threatened to kill those associated with actor Salman Khan.
He claimed Shroff had been warned against working with Khan, suggesting the association was the motive behind Sunday evening’s firing attempt.
The speaker also issued a chilling warning — “sabka number aayega” (everyone will have their turn) — to those who speak against Bishnoi to gain publicity. He further threatened to kill anyone in the film industry who worked independently of the gang or collaborated with Khan.
The Bishnoi gang has had a long-running feud with Khan over allegations that the actor hunted and killed two blackbucks in Rajasthan in the late 1990s. The blackbuck is considered sacred by the Bishnoi community.
Pandit is wanted in several extortion and firing cases in Delhi and elsewhere. Police have yet to verify the authenticity of the audio clip and the accompanying social media post.
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