Tiger Shroff firing case: How TV news alerts guided shooters before arrest in Kota

Handlers directing the armed attack on actor Tiger Shroff’s car in Mumbai used live television news broadcasts to guide the shooters' escape route, warning them when their images appeared on screen before inter-state police coordination tracked them down in Rajasthan.

Gunmen fired at Shroff’s vehicle outside a park in Juhu on the evening of 18 October. While Shroff escaped unhurt, two people, including his driver, sustained injuries. The three suspected shooters — Phool Singh, 18, Rehan Rahisuddin Ansari, 18, and Rithik Mahto, 22 — fled on a motorcycle, initiating an immediate multi-state manhunt.

How television coverage aided the escape

According to Mumbai Police investigators, a handler was constantly in contact with Ansari through an encrypted voice-over-internet-protocol messaging application. The handler monitored rolling news coverage of the shooting in real time, alerting the trio to the progress of the police investigation.

When news channels broadcast video grabs taken by street vloggers and photographers outside the Juhu park, the handler warned them instantly, texting: “your faces are out, get out of there.”

Subsequent messages warned the shooters that police had traced their motorcycle to Andheri and had identified their movement onto the railway network. Guided by these continuous alerts, the suspects repeatedly changed their transport, switching from the motorbike to a local train, taking a taxi, and heading north towards Gujarat.

Inter-state police net in Rajasthan

The suspects reached Surat and initially planned to take an interstate bus. When waiting times proved too long, they boarded another train headed towards northern India.

Despite the handlers' attempts to outmanoeuvre investigators using live broadcast details, Mumbai Police traced the suspects across state borders and alerted Rajasthan Police. Officers in Kota intercepted the train the following day, arresting Singh, Ansari, and Mahto without incident.

A magistrate court remanded all three into police custody until 31 October.

Who was running the operation

Investigators are working to identify who was watching the news broadcasts and relaying instructions. Ten people have been arrested in connection with the attack so far.

Officers suspect the updates came either from Anil Pandit, an operative claiming links to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang who is believed to be in the United States, or from Ankit Khatak and Sameer Khatri, who were arrested in Sonipat, Haryana. Pandit had previously posted an unverified claim of responsibility on social media.

Police noted that the Bishnoi gang frequently uses encrypted platforms such as Signal or the Armenian app Zangi, which does not require a telephone number to register. While the technical sophistication of the handlers delayed direct digital tracking on the day, swift intelligence sharing between Maharashtra, Haryana, and Rajasthan authorities closed the escape window within a day.