Mumbai:
Shots were fired at Bollywood actor Tiger Shroff's car on Sunday evening, but he wasn't the original target. An investigation into an assassination bid targetting Tiger Shroff has revealed that Salman Khan was on target. According to the sources, the shooters conducted a recce of Salman Khan's house. However, seeing the heavy security outside 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan' actor's home, the attackers had to step back.
Shroff was leaving the Pushpa Narsee Ground in Mumbai's Juhu after a game of football when two men opened fire at him. A third person, their accomplice, waited metres away on his motorcycle. After firing seven rounds targeting Shroff, the three men fled on a bike, which they abandoned near Andheri West railway station before boarding a train to Jaipur.
The three men identified as Hritik alias Roshan (22), from Begusarai in Bihar, Rehan (18), from Sonipat in Haryana, and Phool Singh (18), also from Haryana were arrested within 24 hours on Monday. During an interrogation, the three accused revealed that they arrived in Mumbai aiming to assassinate another high-profile individual, sources said.
"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.
The shooters monitored the Instagram accounts of Shroff and his fans, tracking his movements. The intent, according to a source, was to spread terror within Bollywood.
"The shooters have said that their intent was to spread terror within Bollywood by killing Shroff," the source added.
Lawrence Bishnoi Gang Takes Responsibility
Soon after the assassination bid, jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi claimed responsibility for the attack on Shroff through his associate Anil Pandit. In an audio clip released on social media, a man can be heard speaking in Hindi and taking accountability for the attack.
"I am Anil Pandit. I am like a younger brother to Lawrence Bishnoi. What happened with Tiger Shroff today, we take responsibility for that -- Harman Sandhu and myself," the man is heard speaking in Hindi.
He added that Tiger Shroff "was counselled, but did not understand us" and issued death threats to those linked to actor Salman Khan.
"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."
(With inputs from Ruttik Ganakwar)
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