Mumbai:
The alleged assassination attempt on Tiger Shroff has taken an unexpected turn, with sources telling NDTV that the actor was not the original target of the shooters.
Hrithik alias Roshan (22) from Bihar and Rehan (18) and Phool Singh (18) from Haryana fired multiple rounds at Shroff's car on Sunday evening as he was leaving after playing a football match in Mumbai's Juhu.
Sources said on Tuesday that interrogation of the three shooters had revealed that they arrived in Mumbai aiming to assassinate another high-profile individual.
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"After checking out areas frequented by this individual, the shooters realised that they would not be able to get to the person. This was when they shifted their target to Tiger Shroff after learning - through reels posted by his fans - that the actor does not have police protection," said a source.
They then began monitoring the Instagram accounts of both Shroff and his fans, which allowed them to track his movements.
"The shooters have said that their intent was to spread terror within Bollywood by killing Shroff," the source added.
The men ended up firing seven shots at Shroff, who was in his car, and intended to fire more, but a gun jammed. The actor and his driver were injured, but managed to drive away.
'He Was Counselled'
Hours after the shooting, the Lawrence Bishnoi gang took responsibility and said Shroff had been targeted because he was asked to end his association with actor Salman Khan, but he did not comply.
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"I am Anil Pandit. I am like a younger brother to Lawrence Bishnoi. What happened with Tiger Shroff today, we take responsibility for that," a purported gang member said in an audio clip released after the attack, claiming that Shroff "was counselled, but did not understand us".
"In the entire film industry, whoever works without aligning with us, or works with Salman Khan, will be killed. This is the first and last warning," Pandit said.
Sources said the shooters had been paid Rs 50,000 as an advance and were promised more money and jobs abroad after the attack was carried out. After the shots were fired, they informed their handlers that the operation had been completed.
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Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde met Shroff at his residence on Monday and said the government would put an end to such "hooliganism".
"Kisi ki bhi dadagiri Mumbai mein nahi chalegi... This is a major incident. His driver sustained injuries, and the incident is condemnable," Shinde said.