Bengaluru engineer held for threatening actors Ayushmann Khurrana and Tusshar Kapoor

The Mumbai Police Crime Branch has arrested a 30-year-old IT engineer from Bengaluru for allegedly sending threats to the actors Ayushmann Khurrana and Tusshar Kapoor while posing as a member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. A court has remanded him in police custody until 10 November.

The accused, Vaibhav Mishra, was arrested on 4 November. Police say he sent threatening messages and voice recordings through Instagram, and that in one recording sent to Mr. Kapoor he demanded ₹5 crore. He was traced to Bengaluru through digital evidence from the social media accounts used, according to the police. Some reports say he also used email.

Police say they have found nothing so far to link him to the Bishnoi gang. “As of now, it does not appear that the IT engineer is linked to the Bishnoi gang in any manner,” one officer told reporters, adding that he was still to be questioned in detail.

The bigger picture

Lawrence Bishnoi, a gangster held in jail, heads a network that has claimed responsibility for the 2022 killing of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala and the 2024 murder of former Maharashtra Minister Baba Siddique, and has threatened the actor Salman Khan, outside whose Mumbai home shots were fired in April 2024. That notoriety has made the gang’s name a tool for copycats: Mumbai Police have arrested several people in recent years for threats sent in its name to film stars, many with no connection to the gang.

What’s next

Police said they would question him to establish his motive and whether he acted alone.