Tiger Shroff firing: accused first scouted Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan, Akshay Kumar; three arrested

Mumbai: Police investigating the firing on actor Tiger Shroff have found startling details. The probe has revealed that Shroff was not the accused's initial target. Before him, the accused had carried out a recce of three leading Bollywood actors, Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan and Akshay Kumar. According to the police investigation, breaching their tight security was not possible, so the accused targeted Shroff.

Another important finding is that a "dead letter box" method was used to get the pistol and bullets used in the attack to Mumbai. This is what the police have learnt.

According to police, an unidentified person had left the weapon in Amritsar. Anil Pandit sent the location of the weapon to Kunal and Sumit. About two weeks earlier, Kunal and Sumit went to Amritsar and took possession of the pistol. To get the weapon to Mumbai, the accused took the help of two young women. Radha and Babita were sent from Delhi to Mumbai by train. This time the pistol was kept in Radha's bag. The probe has found that the weapon was brought to Mumbai in this way without coming to the police's notice.

Kunal had recently come out of jail on bail. He got to know Anil Pandit through a friend from Harsana village. The two were then in touch on an encrypted app. On Pandit's instructions, Kunal collected a pistol and 20 rounds from Amritsar. Sumit also went to Amritsar with him. Kunal had met Radha about two months earlier and had told her about his activities. Police suspect Radha was then prepared to carry the weapon to Mumbai.

On October 15, Kunal took Radha and Babita to New Delhi railway station. The pistol was placed in Radha's bag. During the journey, Kunal was in contact with Anil Pandit through the encrypted app and proceeded according to his instructions. Police questioning has also revealed that Anil Pandit paid about Rs 70,000 to Rs 80,000 for transporting the weapons. Police suspect that Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000 of this was given to Radha and Babita.

On October 18, two men fired indiscriminately at Shroff's vehicle outside a park. Shroff narrowly escaped in the attack. Police began an investigation immediately after the incident and have so far arrested three accused.

Police are now tracing the accused's network, the supply of weapons, the conspiracy behind the attack and the mastermind behind it. The probe is also trying to understand why the other Bollywood actors were scouted and how Shroff finally became the target.