Bengaluru: Mumbai Police’s Crime Branch has arrested a 30-year-old IT engineer from Bengaluru for allegedly sending threatening messages and extortion demands to several Bollywood actors, including Ayushmann Khurrana and Tusshar Kapoor.
The accused has been identified as Vaibhav Mishra. According to the police, he allegedly contacted the actors through Instagram and attempted to make money by exploiting the atmosphere of fear created by recent threats and firing incidents involving Bollywood personalities.
A police officer said Mishra had also sent an audio message threatening Tusshar Kapoor and demanding Rs 5 crore.
Who Is The Accused In The Bollywood Extortion Threat Case?
Police said they began tracing the sender after receiving complaints from the actors. Investigators examined his online profile and used technical details to identify his location in Bengaluru.
“We have just taken him into custody,” a police officer said.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Rajtilak Roushan confirmed the arrest. Mishra is expected to be brought to Mumbai after the police obtain transit remand from a local court in Bengaluru.
Police have not established any connection between the accused and the Lawrence Bishnoi gang so far.
“As of now, it does not appear that the IT engineer is linked to the Bishnoi gang in any manner, but we are yet to interrogate him and ascertain that,” an officer said.
Tusshar Kapoor Received Threat After Tiger Shroff Firing Incident
The alleged extortion messages came amid heightened concern over threats targeting Bollywood personalities.
On October 18, a shooting incident was reported near actor Tiger Shroff’s car in Mumbai’s Juhu area. A few days later, Tusshar Kapoor received an audio clip allegedly sent by Hari Chand Jat, also known as Harry Boxer, who is described as a close aide of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi.
Tusshar alerted the police after receiving the threatening message. The audio clip was subsequently sent for forensic examination.
However, investigators reportedly found that the voice did not match the samples of Harry Boxer available in police records. This raised suspicion that the threat may have been sent by someone else attempting to take advantage of the situation surrounding the Bishnoi gang.
The latest arrest is part of the investigation into the threats received by actors. Police are yet to question Mishra fully and establish the motive behind the alleged messages.
