Before the October 18 firing on Tiger Shroff, the accused test-fired their guns at a spot near Mumbai and accidentally fired one inside their Andheri hotel room. Here’s the full plot explained step by step — where the guns came from, how they practised, and what police found.
Updated: October 22, 2026, 11:30 AM IST
Quick Read
- Police say the accused practised shooting at a location near Mumbai before the attack — one fired two rounds, the other fired one. They wanted to be sure the guns worked.
- While testing a gun inside their Andheri hotel room, it misfired and a bullet hit the bed. Hotel staff noticed nothing, sources told IANS.
- The three alleged shooters are in police custody till October 31. Police say the attack was ordered by Anil Pandit, a suspected Lawrence Bishnoi gang member — the gang also claimed responsibility on social media, a claim that remains unverified.
Where the guns came from
The police are still tracing the full weapon chain. HT’s reporting traces part of it: one pistol was collected in Amritsar through a “dead letter box” — that’s a hidden drop point where one person leaves a package and another picks it up, without the two ever meeting. Two women then carried the weapon to Mumbai, according to HT’s October 22 report.
Two guns were used in the attack: one foreign-made pistol and one country-made one, NDTV reported. Police say the shooters discarded both while fleeing Mumbai. The weapons have not been found yet — recovering them is one of the main reasons police asked for custody of the shooters.
Also read: Tiger Shroff firing case: 4 Delhi arrests, 2 women brought to Mumbai
The practice session near Mumbai
Fresh details emerged on October 22. During questioning, the accused told the Mumbai crime branch where they had test-fired the weapons. Police took them to that spot near Mumbai to verify it, IANS reported.
One of the accused fired two rounds during the practice. The other fired one. Both rounds went off fine. The shooters reportedly wanted to be sure the guns worked before the attack — a misfire during the real thing could have ruined their whole plan.
This wasn’t a one-day job. The shooters reached Mumbai around 20 days before the October 18 attack. During that time they surveyed the homes of Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar and Aamir Khan, posing as tourists in auto-rickshaws, TOI reported. They got the weapons only around October 17 — a day before the attack.
A misfire inside the hotel room
The oddest detail is from their hotel room in Andheri. While handling or testing one of the guns inside the room, it went off by mistake. A bullet hit the bed. Nobody at the hotel noticed, sources told IANS. No complaint was filed. No staff knocked on the door.
This matters to the investigation for two reasons. First, it shows the guns were live and loaded well before the attack. Second, it tells the police exactly which hotel room to check for forensic evidence — a bullet hole in a bed is hard to hide.
Also read: How shooters tracked Tiger Shroff from Juhu to Kota
The plot, day by day
Here’s the timeline as police sources have described it across reports this week:
Around September 28–30: The accused arrive in Mumbai. For nearly 20 days they tour the suburbs — especially Juhu — checking out celebrity homes by auto-rickshaw and bike, asking drivers to show them star bungalows.
Early October: Salman Khan is reportedly considered first. The plan falls through — heavy police deployment outside his home makes it too risky, per NDTV.
Before October 11: An auto-rickshaw driver tells them Tiger Shroff plays football at the Pushpa Narsee Ground in Juhu every Sunday. They study his fan pages and reels and learn he has no police protection at the time.
October 11 (Sunday): They visit the Juhu ground. Tiger doesn’t show up. Police sources believe this was a dry run.
October 17: They receive the weapons.
Before October 18: The practice firing near Mumbai, plus the hotel-room misfire in Andheri.
October 18 (Sunday, ~7 pm): At least two men on a motorcycle fire at Tiger’s car outside the Juhu football ground. Five to six rounds. Tiger escapes unhurt; his driver is injured, and PTI also reports a bystander hurt. The bike is later found abandoned in Andheri.
October 19: The three alleged shooters are caught on a train in Kota, Rajasthan, while trying to reach Nepal via Delhi.
October 20–22: Four more arrested by the Delhi Police Special Cell; three more picked up from Sonipat. Total: 10 in custody.
10 days in custody — what that means
The three shooters were produced before a Mumbai magistrate on October 21. Police asked for 14 days of custody. The court gave 10 — till October 31, Rediff and PTI reported. Why does the number matter? Police custody means the accused stay with the police for active questioning. It’s different from judicial custody, where they wait in jail during the trial. The court gave police 10 days to recover the discarded weapons, dig into the conspiracy and motive, and collect electronic evidence like call data records.
The accused had destroyed two mobile phones. That’s a problem for investigators — phones hold call logs and chats that can reveal who ordered the attack and who helped. Deleted phones and missing guns both take effort to crack, and that’s why police told the court they need more time.
Defence lawyers Ajinkya Mirgal and Satyabrat Joshi pushed back. They argued police custody wasn’t needed just to recover weapons, and that the accused had already been questioned during transit remand — the custody granted to move them from one state to another.
What police are still checking
Three things remain open. One: investigators will examine a threat audio clip aimed at Tiger Shroff, comparing the voice with recordings held by Punjab and Delhi Police — databases that reportedly contain voices of people linked to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, IANS reported.
Two: the gang’s social-media claim of responsibility. It’s the gang’s own post, not verified evidence. Three: the shooters’ claim about the 20-day recce of star homes. TOI reported that police are still verifying their movements and links with handlers.
Also read: Salman Khan spotted with heavy security at Mumbai airport
The next big date: October 31, when the shooters’ police custody ends. By then, police need to have found the guns, mapped the weapon chain, and pinned down who gave the order — and whether the handler Anil Pandit, named in court, is really tied to the attack.
FAQs
Q: Did the shooters practise before attacking Tiger Shroff?
A: Yes, per police sources quoted by IANS. One accused fired two rounds and another fired one at a spot near Mumbai to check that the guns worked.
Q: What happened in the hotel room in Andheri?
A: While testing a gun inside their Andheri hotel room, it misfired and a bullet hit the bed. Hotel staff noticed nothing, sources told IANS.
Q: Why did the shooters survey other stars’ homes?
A: Police sources say they were told to target celebrities with lighter security. They surveyed the homes of Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Aamir Khan and Salman Khan before settling on Tiger Shroff, who had no police protection at the time.
