Delhi Police sources revealed that the October 18 firing at actor Tiger Shroff was not an impulsive act but a premeditated plot hatched two months in advance. The investigation points to Rehan, the alleged gunman, who was recruited by Anil Pandit, a member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. Rehan, who had previously fired at a businessman in Amritsar to intimidate him, allegedly accepted Pandit's offer of Rs 35,000 upfront, with promises of the remainder and an opportunity to move abroad after the job was done.
Pandit, a resident of Rai Kalan village in Haryana's Panipat district, is suspected of running a transnational extortion racket from California. He allegedly left India around 2023 and has since been coordinating criminal activities targeting Indian celebrities and businessmen. Police note that Pandit had no significant criminal record before his departure, but he is now a wanted man in more than 12 extortion cases across Haryana. His network is believed to include Harman Sandhu, Harry Boxer, Shubham Lonkar, and Randeep Malik.
The modus operandi is chilling in its simplicity. On October 18, at 7 pm, two men on a motorcycle opened fire on Shroff as he left a football ground in Mumbai's Juhu area. Shroff, uninjured, immediately rushed his driver to Nanavati Hospital. Police have since arrested four accused, including Rehan, who allegedly passed on a similar offer to another individual, possibly named Hrithik, though this is still under scrutiny.
The case has exposed a sophisticated gang structure that exploits the anonymity of foreign jurisdictions to threaten Indian public figures. As the Delhi Police continue to trace the money trail and digital footprints, the focus remains on dismantling the network operating out of California. The next phase of the investigation will likely involve international legal cooperation to apprehend Pandit and his co-conspirators.