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A day after three men fired at Bollywood actor Tiger Shroff in Mumbai’s Juhu, Mumbai Police have stepped up security around other film personalities, posting an additional police vehicle outside the homes of Salman Khan and filmmaker Rohit Shetty and intensifying patrolling near Aamir Khan’s residence in Bandra.

Salman Khan and Shetty already had security, but a vehicle from the local police station will now keep a continuous watch near their homes, a senior officer said. Security will be extended to anyone who faces threats, as per SOP, the officer said. Shroff has also been provided police protection.

“The accused were lured with money and told that they would be settled abroad,” Kota SP Tejaswani Gautam said, adding that they had named a man identified as Anil Pandit. According to police, one of the accused, Rehan Rahisuddin, had received Rs 37,000 as part of the deal. “Since they were daily wage labourers, the money was a good deal,” an officer said.

According to officers, the Bishnoi gang targets Bollywood figures “every now and then” so that stars give in to extortion demands. In the 1990s, the Dawood Ibrahim and Chhota Rajan gangs created a similar climate of fear in the film industry to extract “protection money”, they said.

A senior Mumbai Police officer said Shroff could have been targeted because he did not move around with security. “The fact that he went to play football unescorted must have been the opening they were looking for. The motive was to target a celebrity for publicity. They just wanted to create fear so that they could extort money,” the officer said. Police said they had not received any complaint on record from Shroff about any threat before the attack.

Mumbai Police identified the accused as Phool Singh (18), Hrithik Mahto (22) and Rehan Rahisuddin (18). Mahto was allegedly riding the motorcycle used in the attack while the other two opened fire at Shroff’s car. Rehan and Singh are daily-wage labourers, while Mahto worked as a Rapido bike rider based in Andheri over the past year, officers said.

An officer said the case had been handed over to the Anti Extortion Cell of the Mumbai Crime Branch.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said, “A thorough investigation will be conducted to identify others involved in the attack and those behind it. No one will be spared.”

Kota Additional SP Subhash Chandra Mishra said that the accused were “handed over to the Mumbai police which obtained a transit remand and had a medical examination conducted on the accused.” A local court had granted the Mumbai police their custody for two days.

Sources said that the Mumbai team left Kota in the evening “but some people were following them, so they stopped at a police station and then returned to Kota.” Officials said the team will leave for Mumbai again “once they are satisfied” with the security arrangements, which is likely to include an escort by Rajasthan police.

The arrests followed a call at around 9.45 am from Mumbai Police DCP (Crime) Raj Tilak Roushan to his batchmate, Gautam, informing her that the three suspects were aboard the train.

By the time the train reached Kota Junction around 10.30 am, Gautam had alerted several units, including local police, the District Special Team, the Cyber Cell, the Railway Colony police station and the Anti-Gangster Task Force. More than two dozen personnel were deployed at the station, including at its entry and exit points, platforms and railway yard.

Mumbai Police DCP Navnath Dhavale said five rounds were fired and one of the firearms jammed, following which the accused fled. They rode triple-seat on the motorcycle to Andheri railway station, took a train to Borivali and then hired a cab to Surat in Gujarat. From Surat, they boarded a train to Kota.

Mumbai Police also said that none of the three accused was a minor, contradicting an earlier statement by Kota Police about Phool Singh. Mumbai Police said they had his Aadhaar card, which established that he was 18 years and seven months old.

On Sunday, US-based gangster Anil Pandit had claimed responsibility for the firing in a purported audio clip received by multiple security agencies. Pandit also indicated that he was linked to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang.

A separate social media post claiming responsibility on behalf of the Bishnoi gang has also surfaced after the firing. Police said they are examining the post but have not verified the claim or established any link between the attack and the gang.

Asked whether Mumbai Police would seek custody of Bishnoi, who is lodged in Gujarat’s Sabarmati jail, or his brother Anmol, who is in Delhi’s Tihar jail, DCP Roushan said that would depend on due process and court orders.

According to police, Rehan, who hails from Sonepat in Haryana, had come in contact with Pandit around two months ago through a friend, Sameer. Rehan then allegedly communicated with Pandit through messaging apps such as Zangi and Signal before introducing Phool Singh to him. In Mumbai, the two met Mahto, police said. The accused were allegedly given a location in Mumbai from where they collected the firearms.

According to the officer, Rehan was a Class 9 dropout and Phool Singh had studied till Class 12. The two knew each other as both hailed from Sonepat while Mahto alias Roshan had studied till Class 12, and hailed from Begusarai in Bihar.

On Mahto’s role, the officer said, “They had arranged for two shooters from Sonepat with past records. They just needed a bike rider and Mahto came in handy. He didn’t fire a single round in the attack and does not have a past criminal record,” the officer said.

Phool Singh had earlier been booked in a case under the Arms Act while Rehan had been booked for vehicle theft. “Both the accused behaved in an aggressive manner after they were arrested,” the officer said.