Tiger Shroff shooting: Aamir Khan was reportedly the first target, says report

In a fresh twist in the assassination attempt against actor Tiger Shroff, the shooters’ initial target was Aamir Khan, The Indian Express reported. According to the report, the shooters shifted their target as Aamir was inaccessible.

Bollywood actor Tiger Shroff was attacked by two gun-wielding individuals on October 18 near a park at Juhu, where he frequently visited to play football. The shooters were identified as Phool Singh and Rehan Ansari. The shooters spent weeks in Mumbai and visited the area around Aamir Khan’s residence several times. However, as they found it difficult to reach him because he was often away filming or stayed at home for extended periods, they instead chose to target Tiger Shroff, who was far more accessible as he regularly appeared at Pushpa Narsee Ground in Juhu on Sundays.

On Sunday, October 18, three men – Phool Singh, Rehan Ansari and Ritik Kurmi – allegedly went to the ground and waited for Tiger Shroff. CCTV footage showed them arriving around 4.30 pm and checking the entrance. When Tiger Shroff’s BMW left the ground at about 7 pm, Phool Singh and Rehan Ansari fired at the car while Ritik waited on a motorcycle. While Tiger Shroff escaped without any bullet injuries, his driver, Firdous Ibrahim Baloch, suffered injuries.

Police believe the claims of the attackers are in line with the threats made against Aamir Khan earlier this year. In July, a person claiming to be Arzoo Bishnoi, a member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, reportedly threatened the actor following his marriage to Gauri Spratt, describing it as being “against Sanatan Dharma and the nation.” 

Police sources cited by The Indian Express said they suspected the alleged plan could be connected to those threats, while reporting that the shooters themselves claimed not to know the motive.

The shooters had also visited the Juhu ground on October 11, but Tiger Shroff did not show up to play football that day, police sources told the newspaper. Investigators say they later moved from Bandra to Andheri, closer to the ground, and stayed at the R R Residency Hotel from October 14 to October 18. Before settling on Tiger Shroff, they reportedly hired a cab to visit actors’ residences.

The brazen assassination attempt against Bollywood actors by the Bishnoi gang has prompted allegations of the failure of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

“... A criminal lodged in a Gujarat jail under the protection of @AmitShah is targeting Bollywood actors and superstars, and the Home Minister has no answers. It’s not possible for Lawrence Bishnoi to run his network from jail without the Home Minister having any information. We need answers from Amit Shah,” asked Congress spokesperson Dr Shama Mohamed. 

Similarly, activist-lawyer Prashanth Bhushan wrote: “This report about Aamir Khan being the target of the shooters for the reason that the gang was against his marriage to Gauri Spratt as being against ‘Sanatan Dharma’, is ominous & shows that the Bishnoi gang was acting on outside direction. His shifting by the Home Ministry to the Gujarat jail has the key.”

Gangster Lawrence Bishnoi has been in custody since his arrest in 2014, following a police encounter in Rajasthan. He is accused of leading a criminal network linked to extortion and multiple killings, including the murder of popular singer Sidhu Moosewala.

In the present case, the Mumbai police are unable to investigate him, as he is lodged in Gujarat’s Sabarmati jail. In 2023, Union Home Minister Amit Shah issued orders under Section 268 of the Criminal Procedure Code prohibiting Bishnoi's removal from the jail for interrogation by other agencies, citing the risk of attack during the journey.