Bengaluru IT engineer arrested for threatening Bollywood actors, remanded in police custody till November 10

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Collage of Bollywood actors Tusshar Kapoor and Ayushmann Khurrana.

A 30-year-old Bengaluru-based IT engineer, arrested by the Mumbai Crime Branch on November 4 for allegedly threatening Bollywood actors Tusshar Kapoor and Ayushmann Khurrana, among other celebrities, and demanding ₹5 crore while posing as a member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, was remanded in police custody till November 10 by a Mumbai court on Friday (November 6).

The accused, identified as Vaibhav Mishra, was arrested in Bengaluru and subsequently brought to Mumbai. He was produced before the Esplanade Court on Friday, where the Crime Branch sought his custody to examine threatening audio recordings and other technical evidence collected during the investigation.

According to the police, Mishra allegedly contacted celebrities through Instagram, claiming to be associated with the Lawrence Bishnoi gang and issuing threats while demanding money.

The threats reportedly began after the firing incident involving actor Tiger Shroff, following which several Bollywood personalities received threatening messages.

Investigators said Mishra allegedly sent threatening audio messages to actor Tusshar Kapoor, purportedly imitating the voice of gangster Anil Pandit, and demanded ₹5 crore. Police are examining the audio recordings to establish how the alleged impersonation was carried out.

The Crime Branch is analysing data recovered from Mishra’s mobile phone and examining multiple phone numbers suspected to have been used to contact the celebrities. Investigators are also trying to establish whether he acted independently or had accomplices.

Police said a voice-sample examination would be conducted to compare Mishra’s voice with the threatening audio recordings and verify their authenticity.

The investigation is also examining his alleged claims of association with the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. However, police have not established whether Mishra had any actual links to the gang or merely used its name to intimidate the recipients.

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