The Mumbai Crime Branch has arrested a 30-year-old IIT graduate from Bengaluru for allegedly sending threatening messages to actor Ayushmann Khurrana through Instagram and demanding money. The accused, identified as Vaibhav Mishra, is being questioned to establish why he contacted the actor and whether the messages were part of an extortion attempt.

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Police suspect that the incident may have been a prank, but investigators are yet to establish Mishra's motive. His arrest followed an investigation into the messages sent to Khurrana, with officers now examining the circumstances surrounding the alleged threat and money demand.

The arrest comes amid a series of reported threats targeting Bollywood personalities, with the name of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and his associates featuring in some of the messages. However, the police are yet to establish any genuine connection between the accused and the gang.

Tusshar Kapoor also received an extortion threat

The development comes days after actor Tusshar Kapoor reportedly received a threatening audio message from a person claiming to be Harry Boxer, an alleged member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. The caller allegedly demanded Rs 5 crore from the actor.

The Mumbai Crime Branch examined the recording and compared the voice with available samples of Boxer. The preliminary analysis reportedly found no match, prompting investigators to suspect that someone may have impersonated the alleged gang member to intimidate Kapoor and demand money.

The matter was handed over to the Crime Branch's Anti-Extortion Cell, which began tracing the sender. Police had not registered an FIR at the time of the initial reports.

There is no confirmation that the threat received by Kapoor and the messages sent to Khurrana are connected. Investigators are examining the cases separately as they try to establish who was behind the communications.