Delhi Police Say Tiger Shroff Shooting Weapon Moved Through 'Dead Letter Box' and Two Women Couriers

Since the Oct. 18 shooting outside a Juhu football ground, police have gone from three arrested shooters to a seven-person case. The new detail is how the gun got to Mumbai: a spy-style handoff, two paid couriers and an encrypted chat app.

Tiger Shroff was leaving the ground when three shots were fired at his car at close range. The actor was unhurt. His driver and a vlogger standing nearby were injured. The three shooters fled Mumbai and were arrested in Kota, Rajasthan.

An account linked to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang later claimed responsibility. It warned that people close to actor Salman Khan would continue to be targeted.

The Amritsar pickup

On Tuesday, Oct. 20, Delhi Police arrested four more people in Delhi and Sonipat: Kunal (21), Sumit (19), Radha (23) and Babita (23). Police say they supplied the weapon.

According to the Special Cell, Kunal was introduced to Anil Pandit, who allegedly describes himself as a Bishnoi associate. The introduction came through a friend from Harsana village. The two then began talking on an encrypted app.

Police say Kunal was released from Sonipat jail in July. Hindustan Times reports he was out on bail.

About two weeks before the shooting, police say, Pandit sent Kunal and Sumit to Amritsar. The location had been shared in advance. A pistol and 20 rounds were waiting at what investigators call a "dead letter box," a pre-arranged spot where an item is left for someone else to collect without the two parties meeting.

Police sources say the two men do not know who put the weapons there.

Two women, one train

Praveen Kumar Tripathi, DCP of the Special Cell, described the next step. "Kunal, recently stepped out of jail on bail, was introduced to Anil Pandit by one of his friend from Harsana village, and he began talking with him on an encrypted app," he said. "On Pandit's directions, Kunal collected one pistol and 20 rounds from Amritsar."

Tripathi said Kunal met Radha about two months before the firing, told her about his activities and persuaded her to travel to Mumbai with the weapon. Police sources describe Radha as his girlfriend.

Radha and Babita are originally from Uttar Pradesh and were living in Sonipat. Police say they held security-related jobs. Other accounts from police sources say they worked at a factory.

On Oct. 15, police say, Kunal took the two women to New Delhi Railway Station. Radha carried the pistol in her bag. Kunal stayed in touch by encrypted app during the trip and relayed Pandit's instructions.

The women reached Mumbai on Oct. 17, got off at Dadar and checked into a hotel. Around 11 a.m., someone collected the bag from Radha at an isolated spot near the hotel. An official told the Times of India it was one of the shooters.

The shooting came the next day.

The money

Police sources say Pandit allegedly paid Kunal and Sumit between Rs 70,000 and Rs 80,000. The two men allegedly passed Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000 to Radha and Babita for carrying the weapon across the country.

Delhi Police have described this as preliminary information. The women have not been reported to have commented publicly.

Bigger questions about Kunal and Pandit

The Times of India, citing unnamed sources, reports that Kunal was in touch with Pandit and another gangster, Randeep Malik, for more than two months. The same sources say he was also the source of the weapon used in the murder of a forex-hawala trader in Sonipat last year. Police have not publicly confirmed either claim, and no charge tied to that killing has been reported in connection with this case.

Mumbai Police sources have also said Salman Khan was the original target and Shroff was an "easy second choice," according to Hindustan Times. News18 reports, citing sources, that the shooters scouted Khan's home beforehand and found heavy security.

Shroff has a different account. According to News18, he told Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde there was no prior threat and that he is not in touch with Khan.

What happens next

The three shooters were brought to Mumbai from Kota on Wednesday, Oct. 21. After a medical exam they were taken to the Anti-Extortion Cell office for questioning. Their lawyer, Ajinkya Mirgal Madhukar, said they were expected before a court on Thursday morning, Oct. 22.

The weapon trail still ends at an Amritsar drop point. The men who collected the pistol say they don't know who left it. The investigators who built the Delhi-to-Mumbai timeline from digital footprints, chat logs and CCTV now have to work out who stocked that box, and that person has not been publicly identified.