Threats to actors Ayushmann Khurrana, Tusshar Kapoor: techie held

Mumbai: An IT engineer from Bengaluru has been arrested by Mumbai Crime Branch for allegedly sending threatening emails and making intimidating calls to several people in the city, including Bollywood actors Ayushmann Khurrana and Tusshar Kapoor.

The accused, 30-year-old Vaibhav Mishra, was traced to Bengaluru after investigators tracked the IP address allegedly used to dispatch the threatening emails. He was arrested on November 4 and is scheduled to be produced before a court on November 5.

Police suspect Mishra had been targeting several film personalities in Mumbai over the preceding days through multiple channels. Khurrana and Kapoor were among those who reportedly received threatening messages, prompting the Crime Branch to investigate the series of incidents.

Investigators are also examining whether artificial intelligence was used to create voice recordings resembling those of a member of an alleged criminal gang. However, no forensic findings have been made public to establish that AI-generated audio was involved.

Mumbai Police have ruled out any connection between the arrested engineer and the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, despite speculation surrounding the alleged threats.

The Crime Branch is now probing Mishra's motive, the possible extortion angle and whether other celebrities or individuals were targeted. Police are also investigating how the threatening communications were generated and circulated as the case progresses.