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

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 Khurran, among other celebrities, and demanding ₹5 million while posing as a member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang till November 1, was jailed by the police on Friday, November 1. (November 6).

The accused, identified as Vaibhav Mishra, was arrested in Bengaluru and subsequently taken to Mumbai. He was produced before the Esplanade court on Friday, where the crime branch sought his remand to examine threatening audio recordings and other technical evidence collected during the investigation.

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

The threats reportedly started after actor Tiger Shroff’s burning incident, after which several Bollywood personalities received threatening messages.

Investigators said Mishra allegedly sent threatening audio messages to actor Tusshar Kapoor, allegedly imitating gangster Anil Pandit’s voice, demanding ₹5 crore. Police are reviewing audio recordings to determine how the alleged impersonation took place.

Crime Branch is analyzing the data recovered from Mishra’s mobile phone and investigating several phone numbers suspected to have been used to contact celebrities. Investigators are also trying to determine whether he acted alone 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 looking into his alleged links to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. However, the police have not established whether Mishra had any real links with the gang or just used his name to intimidate the beneficiaries.

Further investigation is underway.

Published – 07 Nov 2026 10:38 IST