Aamir Khan was Bishnoi’s target over marriage deemed ‘against Sanatan Dharma’

The shooting incident targeting Bollywood actor Tiger Shroff has revealed that the real target was not the ‘tiger,’ but Aamir Khan, who had reportedly been threatened by Arzoo Bishnoi, who warned that Khan would soon pay the price for marrying Gauri Spratt, a union he claimed was “against Sanatan Dharma and the nation”. The message also declared that the Bishnoi gang would not tolerate it.

According to police sources quoted by The Indian Express, the alleged shooters, Phool Singh and Rehan Ansari, were initially instructed to target Aamir Khan, but later turned their attention to Shroff after finding the former difficult to approach.

The two men reportedly arrived in Mumbai from Haryana on September 20 and stayed at a lodge in Bandra East, near Khan’s residence. During their nearly month-long stay, they allegedly conducted reconnaissance of the area at least three times, only to discover that the actor was frequently away filming or remained indoors for days whenever he returned home.

With their attempts yielding little progress, the alleged shooters are said to have contacted Anil Pandit towards the end of September, following which they decided to change their target. Pandit, who is based in the United States, subsequently claimed responsibility for the firing at Shroff in a purported audio recording, in which he also suggested a connection with the Lawrence Bishnoi gang.

By the first week of October, the alleged shooters had reportedly settled on Shroff, who regularly played football on Sundays at Pushpa Narsee Park in Juhu. They moved from Bandra to Andheri, bringing themselves closer to the park where the actor was considered more accessible.

Police sources further disclosed that the accused had hired a taxi for a day, paying the driver Rs 3,000 to take them on a tour of actors’ residences in Bandra and Andheri. They reportedly changed hotels three times before staying at R R Residency Hotel from October 14 to 18, the day of the attack.

While Salman Khan has allegedly remained a target of the gang since 2018, his security arrangements have made him difficult to approach, sources said. Aamir Khan, meanwhile, was considered the more realistic target.