The accused in the firing incident involving Bollywood actor Tiger Shroff allegedly arrived in Mumbai about a month before the attack and conducted reconnaissance of the residences of several prominent film stars, according to Mumbai Crime Branch sources.
Police sources said the accused allegedly hired auto-rickshaws to travel around the city, asking drivers to take them to Bollywood celebrities’ homes under the pretext of wanting to photograph the properties.
The auto-rickshaw drivers reportedly took them to the residences of several actors, including Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan, Akshay Kumar and Salman Khan.
According to police sources, the accused had allegedly been instructed to target celebrities who had relatively limited security.
During their reconnaissance, an auto-rickshaw driver reportedly told them that Tiger Shroff played football at a ground in Juhu every Sunday.
Acting on this information, the accused allegedly visited the ground on October 11. However, Shroff did not arrive that day.
The accused returned to the same ground on October 18, allegedly carrying firearms. During the visit, they reportedly opened fire at Shroff’s car.
Police sources further said that some other individuals from Haryana had travelled to Mumbai around the same period. They allegedly conducted reconnaissance before returning to Haryana.
After the firing incident, the accused allegedly discarded both firearms at an unidentified location while fleeing Mumbai. The Mumbai Police are now attempting to trace and recover the weapons.
According to police sources, two pistols were used in the incident, one foreign-made and the other manufactured domestically. However, the accused reportedly had limited information about which of the two firearms was foreign-made.
The Mumbai Crime Branch is continuing its investigation to recover the discarded weapons, establish the roles of the accused and determine the full extent of the alleged conspiracy.