Ayushmann Khurrana
Mumbai: The city crime branch arrested a 30-year-old IIT graduate from Bengaluru Wednesday for allegedly sending threatening messages to a few film personalities, including actor Ayushmann Khurrana . The accused, identified as a native of Darbhanga in Bihar, was arrested by Unit 9 of the crime branch following a technical investigation into the Instagram accounts allegedly used to send threatening audio messages to Khurrana. The messages reportedly demanded Rs 5 crore from the actor. The threats to the actors have heightened concerns within the film fraternity, particularly following the Oct 18 firing incident targeting actor Tiger Shroff outside his residence in Juhu.
Police said Vaibhav Chandra Mishra, who has completed his BTech, is currently unemployed. DCP (crime) Raj Tilak Roshan said Mishra was traced to Bengaluru through technical analysis and is being brought to Mumbai to be produced before a court. Preliminary investigations suggest he allegedly sent the threatening messages out of frustration and might be suffering from certain mental health issues. His family in Bihar has been informed about his arrest. “Our technical investigation led us to Bengaluru, where we arrested him. Prima facie, he has admitted to sending threats to Khurrana through Instagram. However, we suspect that he had created multiple fictitious Instagram accounts and may have sent threatening messages to a few other celebrities as well. The arrest comes days after actor Tusshar Kapoor approached the police after allegedly receiving threatening audio messages from an unidentified person claiming to be Harry Boxer, a member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. Tusshar had informally alerted Mumbai police about the threat, following which the police protection branch enhanced security for him and his sister, film producer Ekta Kapoor . Officials declined to disclose the category of security provided to them. The crime branch has arrested several accused in connection with the incident.