Tiger Shroff Shooting Probe: How Mumbai Police Traced Three Suspects Across States

A journey that crossed several parts of western and central India ended with three suspects in police custody after investigators unravelled their movements using a combination of telephone records, a cab driver’s assistance and railway surveillance footage.

The men are accused of opening fire at Bollywood actor Tiger Shroff in Mumbai on Sunday.

According to police accounts, they repeatedly altered their travel plans in an apparent effort to avoid detection.

Their movements eventually brought them to the Pune-Jaipur Express, where Rajasthan Police intercepted them at Kota railway station on Monday.

The breakthrough came not from a direct confrontation or a routine checkpoint, but from a taxi journey arranged after one of the suspects briefly switched on his mobile phone.

A taxi booking exposes the escape route

Investigators had been examining technical leads and CCTV recordings to establish the identities and movements of the suspected shooters.

The men were reportedly keeping their phones switched off for much of their journey, limiting opportunities to track them electronically.

That changed when one of them attempted to arrange a ride to Surat from outside Borivali railway station on Sunday night.

After the cab failed to arrive, he telephoned the driver to explain where the passengers were waiting.

Although the phone was switched off again after the conversation, the call had left investigators with a crucial lead: the driver’s contact number.

Police traced the driver, who was familiar with the Mumbai-Surat route. He had already dropped the three passengers at the Surat bus stand by the time investigators contacted him.

His account helped officers establish where the men had gone, while CCTV recordings from the area independently showed the group at the location.

The suspects’ onward journey was still uncertain. They reportedly waited at the bus stand before abandoning the plan to travel by bus and heading to the railway station instead.

Train journey brings the search to Rajasthan

Footage from Surat railway station helped investigators identify the compartment the men boarded.

With the train already moving towards Rajasthan, Mumbai Police decided to enlist local assistance rather than wait for its own personnel to reach the area.

The information was passed to Kota Police, including details of the coach carrying the suspects.

At around 9.45 am on Monday, Kota Superintendent of Police Tejaswani Gautam received a call from Tilak Raj Roushan, a Mumbai Police Deputy Commissioner of Police and her colleague from the 2013 IPS batch.

A coordinated operation was then organised at the railway station. More than two dozen police personnel were deployed at strategic points, including platforms, entrances, exits and areas around the railway yard.

Officers searched the train and located the three men in a general compartment.

After confirming their identities, police surrounded the coach and detained them, Gautam said. No weapons were found on the suspects at the time of their arrest.

Police said the men were expected to continue to Jaipur, where they allegedly intended to board a bus to Delhi before attempting to travel onwards to Nepal.

Investigators reconstruct an unusual sequence of travel

Police accounts indicate that the suspects had not relied on a single mode of transport after the shooting.

They allegedly travelled together on a motorcycle from Mumbai’s Juhu area to Andheri, then used a suburban train before continuing towards Surat by road.

An officer involved in the investigation said the group appeared to be changing its means of travel to make its movements harder to follow.

The decision to board a long-distance train from Surat reportedly came only after the men failed to secure a bus for the next leg of their journey.

The officer also cited a previous investigation involving the firing incident linked to filmmaker Rohit Shetty, in which alleged shooters reportedly used a long-distance train from Kalyan.

According to the officer, the suspects in the present case initially tried to avoid a similar route, limiting their suburban train travel to Kandivali before changing transport again.

The sequence suggests that the men were attempting to make their trail less predictable, although investigators will need to establish the precise role and actions of each accused through further evidence.

Arrests mark a new phase of the investigation

The three men have been identified as Phool Singh, Rehan R and Hrithik Mahto.

Their arrest in Kota has allowed investigators to bring their movements under scrutiny and pursue further evidence relating to Sunday’s shooting.

The case highlights the importance of connecting seemingly minor clues. A brief call, a driver who could identify the drop-off point, and recordings from railway stations collectively helped police follow a route spanning multiple cities.

Investigators are now expected to examine the evidence surrounding the attack and determine the individual roles allegedly played by the three men.

Their arrest represents a significant development in the case, while the wider investigation into the shooting continues.

टाइगर श्रॉफ गोलीकांड की जांच में पुलिस को कैसे मिली कामयाबी, कई शहरों से गुजरकर कोटा पहुंचे आरोपी