Two Haryana teenagers arrested in connection with the firing at actor Tiger Shroff’s car allegedly used fake identities to stay at a budget hotel in Mumbai’s Chakala area, according to hotel staff cited in the investigation. The details have brought the city’s guest-verification and hotel security practices into focus as police examine how the suspects moved weapons through the city before the attack.
Rehan Ansari and Phool Singh, both 18, allegedly checked into RR Residency at about 11 am on October 14 using the names Ankit and Randeep, hotel staff said. They reportedly used a forged Aadhaar card to book the room. Police seized the document and the hotel’s booking register on October 19, according to the report.
The teenagers allegedly stayed at the hotel until October 18. A staff member, Dheeraj Yadav, said they generally left around 1 pm and returned approximately three hours later, telling staff that they had gone sightseeing. On the day they left, the two allegedly used the hotel’s rear exit at about 4.10 pm without completing the checkout process.
Hotel staff later found clothes in two bags left inside the room. Police also seized CCTV footage that allegedly showed the two suspects leaving with a blue bag containing firearms before travelling towards Juhu on a motorcycle. Staff identified the teenagers from photographs shown by police, but said they had not seen the third accused, aggregator driver Hrithik Roshan alias Kumar, 22, at the hotel.
The firing occurred in Mumbai’s Juhu area on Sunday evening, when two assailants allegedly opened fire at Shroff’s car. The actor escaped relatively unhurt, while his driver and a bystander sustained injuries. The two teenagers and Kumar were arrested in connection with the case, according to the report.
A Crime Branch officer said the suspects had brought weapons into the hotel room. The officer said a gun allegedly discharged accidentally while the suspects were attempting to clear a jammed bullet or test-fire it, with the shot striking either the bed or a wall. The account was attributed to the ongoing investigation.
The investigation has also alleged that the teenagers travelled by autorickshaw to a forested area on Mumbai’s outskirts on October 17 and paid Rs 400 to conduct target practice. The reported sequence has placed attention on the movement of weapons through hotels, transport networks and less-monitored peripheral areas around the city.
Police have seized the alleged forged identity document, booking records and CCTV footage as part of the investigation. The official findings and the evidentiary status of the allegations will depend on the continuing police probe and subsequent court proceedings.
