Cashing In On Fear: How Copycat Extortionists Are Targeting Bollywood

The Mumbai Police have advised Bollywood actors to stay away from crowded public places and fan gatherings. The advisory follows after the October firing on Tiger Shroff’s car in Juhu and a chain of incidents earlier that had already frayed nerves: the attack outside Rohit Shetty’s Juhu home, the murder of Baba Siddique and repeated threats linked to the Lawrence Bishnoi network. Security teams have tightened protocols; some stars now greet fans from behind protective barriers. The message from the police was clear; crowds create vulnerability and the industry has taken it seriously. Yet the same climate of fear has created an opening for a different kind of threat. Small-time operators and opportunistic freelancers, sensing panic, have begun impersonating the very gangs the police are watching. They do not need weapons or local networks; a voice note, a claim of gang affiliation, and a demand for crores are enough. The case of Ayushmann Khurrana illustrates the pattern. A 30-year-old Bengaluru-based IT engineer, Vaibhav Mishra, allegedly sent threatening Instagram audio messages to Khurrana and Tusshar Kapoor, posing as an associate of the Bishnoi gang and demanding large sums. Police found no genuine link to the syndicate; the messages appear to have been an attempt to cash in on the fear generated by the Tiger Shroff shooting. Mishra has since been arrested and remanded to judicial custody, with investigators still checking whether similar threats reached other celebrities. The Ayushmann episode shows how easily a digitally savvy individual can borrow the language of organised crime to extract money or simply spread panic. For the industry, the practical result is the same: heightened insecurity, restricted movement, and a new calculus in which every public outing now carries both physical and reputational risk.