MUMBAI: A friendship, a public appearance or an alleged professional association with Salman Khan has repeatedly featured in threats and claims surrounding attacks on people in the entertainment industry. The latest incident involving actor Tiger Shroff has brought the issue back into focus, after a social media message claiming responsibility for the firing also threatened those who work with Salman. On Sunday evening, October 18, unidentified assailants opened fire at a vehicle carrying Tiger Shroff in Mumbai’s Juhu area. The actor escaped unharmed, while his driver sustained a gunshot injury. A man identifying himself as Anil Pandit subsequently claimed responsibility on behalf of a group he described as linked to jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi.
In the message, the speaker alleged that Shroff had ignored an earlier warning and threatened people in the film industry who worked with Salman Khan. He also demanded that Salman apologise to Lawrence Bishnoi or the Bishnoi community. Police are investigating the shooting and the alleged gang connection. The incident has renewed attention on a series of cases in which Salman Khan’s relationships, professional associations or public appearances have featured in alleged motives, threats or gang claims. However, the evidence differs from one case to another, and not every attack linked to the Bishnoi gang has been established as retaliation against Salman’s associates.
The firing took place at around 7 pm on October 18, when Tiger Shroff was leaving a football ground in the Juhu area of Mumbai. Reports said unidentified attackers opened fire at the vehicle in which the actor was travelling. Shroff escaped without injury, while his driver suffered a gunshot wound to his left hand and was taken to Nanavati Hospital. Another report also referred to an injured bystander. Hours after the incident, a message attributed to Anil Pandit surfaced on social media. The speaker claimed that he and another individual, Harman Sandhu, were taking responsibility for the firing, describing himself as Lawrence Bishnoi’s younger brother. The speaker alleged that Tiger Shroff had previously been warned and had failed to heed the warning. He then issued a threat against people in the film industry who worked with Salman Khan, saying they would be killed. The message also contained a direct threat against Salman and his family if the actor did not apologise to Lawrence Bishnoi or the Bishnoi community. The speaker further claimed that security arrangements would not protect those being targeted.
During his conversation with Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Tiger Shroff reportedly said he had no idea why he was targeted. He said he had not received any threats before the incident and had no indication that something like this could happen to him. Tiger also clarified that he was not in touch with Salman Khan. His mother, who was reportedly in shock following the incident, said her son had no animosity towards anyone and had never been involved in fights. She added that he generally kept to himself and did not interact much with others, leaving the family puzzled about the motive behind the attack.
Shroff’s father, Jackie Shroff, is known to be a friend of Salman, but the younger actor has not been established as a close associate of Salman Khan through their film collaborations. The discrepancy between the gang’s alleged claim and Shroff’s account is an important part of the case. Following the firing and the online threat, security outside Salman Khan’s residence at Galaxy Apartments in Bandra was strengthened, with additional police personnel and vehicles deployed.
Former Maharashtra minister and Nationalist Congress Party leader Baba Siddique was shot dead outside his son Zeeshan Siddique’s office in Mumbai’s Bandra East on October 12, 2024. Siddique was widely known for his close friendship with Salman Khan. His murder became one of the most prominent cases in which the actor’s personal associations were examined as a possible factor in a gang-related attack. In January 2025, the Mumbai Police Crime Branch filed a chargesheet in the case. According to The Indian Express, the chargesheet said the Lawrence Bishnoi gang had targeted Siddique because of his proximity to Salman Khan. Investigators said the gang had considered Salman a target but that heightened security around the actor made it difficult to approach him directly.
The chargesheet reportedly described Siddique as an alternative target and also referred to other alleged motives, including the gang’s attempt to establish its influence in Mumbai and claims concerning Siddique’s alleged links with gangster Dawood Ibrahim. These were investigative findings and allegations set out by police, rather than a judicial determination of guilt against every accused. The case illustrates how a relationship with Salman Khan became part of the police’s explanation for why Siddique was targeted. Unlike the recent online claims involving Tiger Shroff, the connection in Siddique’s case was specifically described in the police chargesheet.
Comedian Kapil Sharma’s business venture in Canada also came under attack in 2025, when gunmen fired at his cafe, Kap’s Cafe, in Surrey. The cafe was targeted in multiple shooting incidents during the year. Different groups claimed responsibility for attacks, so the incidents should not all be attributed to the same gang. In August 2025, an audio recording attributed to Harry Boxer, a member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, surfaced in connection with the firing. According to reports, the speaker claimed that the attacks on Sharma’s restaurant were linked to his invitation to Salman Khan for the inauguration associated with his Netflix show.
Salman appeared in the first episode of the third season of The Great Indian Kapil Showwhich premiered on Netflix on June 21, 2025. The recording reportedly threatened directors, producers and artists who worked with Salman, warning that they could be shot. The claims in the audio were attributed to the gang member and were not, by themselves, proof that the gang was responsible for every shooting at the cafe. The attacks on the Canadian business also involved a separate group that claimed responsibility for one of the incidents. The case therefore highlights the need to distinguish between separate criminal claims even when they involve the same target.
In February 2026, shots were fired outside filmmaker Rohit Shetty’s residence in Mumbai’s Juhu area. Shetty and his family were reportedly at home, but no one was injured. A social media account claiming links to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang took responsibility for the firing and issued a threat directed at the filmmaker and the film industry. Police subsequently investigated the incident and arrested or detained several people alleged to have been involved. The case initially attracted attention amid the wider pattern of threats against people in the entertainment industry. However, the motive needs to be treated separately from the claims made in other cases involving Salman Khan.
In May 2026, The Indian Express reported that a chargesheet filed by Mumbai Police described the firing as an act intended to establish the gang’s supremacy. Police sources said investigators had indications about a possible motive but had not found evidence sufficient to establish it, and the chargesheet did not specify a definitive motive. There is therefore no established basis in the cited reporting to state that Shetty was attacked because of his connection to Salman Khan. The gang’s alleged involvement and its broader threats against the film industry do not, on their own, establish that specific link.
Salman Khan has also been directly targeted. On April 14, 2024, gunmen fired outside his Galaxy Apartments residence in Bandra, Mumbai. The incident prompted a major security response and an investigation into the alleged involvement of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. The gang has long expressed hostility towards Salman over the 1998 blackbuck hunting case, in which the animal is considered sacred by the Bishnoi community. The firing outside the actor’s residence became a significant part of the subsequent investigations into the gang’s threats and its alleged targeting of people associated with him. In the Baba Siddique case, police later said the gang had considered Salman a target but had shifted attention to someone close to him because of the actor’s security arrangements. That finding provides context for why threats against Salman and people in his circle have been treated seriously by law enforcement. It does not mean, however, that every subsequent shooting involving a celebrity or business associated with the film industry was necessarily motivated by a connection to him.
Why Has Salman Khan Become A Focus Of These Threats? Lawrence Bishnoi has publicly expressed hostility towards Salman Khan over the blackbuck hunting case dating back to 1998. The gang’s threats against the actor have continued over the years, including the firing outside his home in April 2024. The latest message attributed to Anil Pandit follows a similar pattern: it invokes the dispute with Salman and extends the threat to people alleged to work with or support him. The language in the message suggests an attempt to intimidate a wider circle of actors, filmmakers and other industry figures. The alleged threat against anyone working with Salman Khan is especially significant because it goes beyond a direct warning to the actor and raises concerns about the safety of people who collaborate with him.
What Happens Next In The Tiger Shroff Firing Case? Mumbai Police are investigating the firing at Tiger Shroff’s vehicle, including the identity of the attackers and the authenticity of the message claiming responsibility. The actor’s statement that he had received no prior threat is also an important detail as investigators examine the alleged motive. The threat issued against Salman Khan and people working with him has led to renewed security concerns around the actor.
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