Four more people have been arrested by the Delhi Police Special Cell in connection with the firing at actor Tiger Shroff's car in Mumbai. They include two 23-year-old women from Uttar Pradesh.
The Delhi Police have identified them as Radha and Babita, who allegedly worked as couriers for the Lawrence Bishnoi gang's arms smuggling network. The other two are Kunal, 21, and Sumit, 19, residents of Sonipat district in Haryana. All four were acting on the directions of Anil Pandit, a gangster operating from abroad, police said.
Three others have already been arrested. Hrithik Kumar, Phool Singh, and Rehan Ansari were arrested hours after the shooting. They have been brought from Kota, where they were nabbed, to Mumbai.
Who are Radha and Babita?
Both women worked as couriers for the Lawrence Bishnoi gang's arms smuggling network. They had delivered a large consignment of weapons to the gang's handlers in Dadar, which were then delivered to the shooters.
Kunal, who was recently released from jail on bail, was introduced to Anil Pandit, a 32-year-old US-based gangster from Panipat and an alleged associate of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. The two began communicating with Pandit through an encrypted messaging application.
They devised the plan to carry out the firing, and Pandit instructed Kunal and Sumit to collect a pistol and 20 rounds of ammunition from Amritsar, according to a Delhi Police Special Cell official.
Kunal met Radha two months ago, and the two had since been in a relationship. He had already told her about his activities and persuaded her to travel to Mumbai with a weapon. Babita was Radha’s associate.
“On October 15, Kunal allegedly dropped Radha and her associate Babita at New Delhi Railway Station. The pistol was hidden in Radha's bag, and throughout the journey, Kunal remained in touch with them through the encrypted messaging application and relayed instructions from Pandit,” the official said.
The women arrived in Mumbai two days later and checked into a hotel. At around 11 a.m., a minor boy allegedly collected the bag from Radha near their hotel.
Around 7 p.m. on October 18, the firing was reported at Shroff’s car. Kunal was contacted by Pandit, who informed him that the shooters were stranded in Mumbai and asked him to arrange their escape.
Radha and Babita too decided to flee and left Mumbai for Delhi on the Dadar-Haridwar Express on October 18. They were apprehended at New Delhi Railway Station on Tuesday, while Kunal and Sumit were arrested in Sonipat.
Who was the original target?
New revelations have emerged regarding the attack, with the accused telling investigators that Tiger wasn't the attacker's original target. On Tuesday, interrogation of the three attackers revealed that they had come to Mumbai with the intention of killing another high-profile figure.
"After conducting a recce of the person's frequented places, the attackers realised they would not be able to reach him. Subsequently, they targeted Tiger Shroff. The attackers learned from reels posted by Tiger's fans that Tiger had no police protection." They then began monitoring Shroff and his fans' Instagram accounts, allowing them to track his activities. The source further explained, "The shooters have stated that their goal was to terrorise Bollywood by killing Shroff."
