MUMBAI, India — Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh has received an extortion threat via a WhatsApp voice note, days after shots were fired outside filmmaker Rohit Shetty’s residence, prompting Mumbai Police to step up security and launch a search for the sender.
According to police sources, the unidentified caller demanded crores of rupees in the voice message sent to Singh. After the threat was received, security outside the actor’s residence was increased and the matter was reported to the police. Investigators have begun tracing the origin of the message and are conducting a manhunt to identify those involved.
The threat comes amid heightened concern over law and order following the recent firing incident outside Shetty’s home in the Juhu area. Mumbai Crime Branch officials have said that five rounds were fired at the filmmaker’s residence. Footage from the scene showed multiple bullet marks on the building, which is equipped with more than ten CCTV cameras and has two gated entrances.
Investigators said the vehicle used in the shooting was sourced from Pune. The car reportedly belonged to a Pune resident who sold it to one of the accused, Aditya Gayki, for Rs 30,000 a few days before the incident. Gayki and another accused, Samarth Pomaji, later left the vehicle at a predetermined location in Juhu.
Police said the shooter was instructed to pick up the vehicle from that location by Shubham Lonkar, who allegedly coordinated the attack. According to the Crime Branch, the operation followed a familiar pattern in which multiple small groups are used so that individuals involved do not know one another, complicating investigations.
After the firing, the suspects fled the scene. Senior Mumbai Police officials and Crime Branch teams arrived shortly after the incident was reported and have continued to investigate possible underworld links.
Authorities said inquiries are ongoing in both cases, and additional security measures remain in place as police work to identify and apprehend those behind the threats and the shooting. (Source: IANS)
