Mumbai: In a major breakthrough in the firing incident outside filmmaker Rohit Shetty’s residence, the Mumbai Crime Branch has arrested the main shooter along with six others from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. The accused were brought to Mumbai on Monday and produced before the MCOCA court, which remanded them to police custody till February 25. In this case, absconded Shubham Lonkar and arrested accused in Baba Siddhiqui murder case, Pravin Lonnkar are wanted. So, tomarrow Crime branch likely to seek Custody of Pravin Lonkar, When previously arrested five accused will produce before Special MCOCA Court as ended their Police Custody todaay (February 17).
12 Special Teams Formed, Arrests Made in Jhajjar, Agra, Noida
According to senior officials, 12 special teams were formed to trace the accused. Acting on technical surveillance and intelligence inputs, the teams arrested Deepak Rameshchandra Sharma (24), identified as the main shooter, along with Sunny Kumar (23), Sonu Thakur(23) and Ritik Yadav(22) from Jhajjar in Haryana. Vishnu Kushwaha(26) was arrested from Agra, while Jatin Bhardwaj (24) and Vishal were apprehended from the Noida–Ghaziabad region in Uttar Pradesh.
Open-Air Liquor Party Before Firing : Police investigations revealed that on January 31, Deepak Sharma, Sonu Thakur, Sunny Kumar and another absconding accused had conducted reconnaissance (recce) of Shetty’s residence in Juhu. After purchasing liquor from a wine shop, they allegedly held an open-air drinking party before executing the attack.
Fired at Residence, Fled to Kalyan, Then Boarded Train to UP
Later, Deepak Sharma and Sonu Thakur rode a motorcycle to Shetty’s residence and opened fire. They fled towards Vile Parle railway station, abandoned the bike, took an autorickshaw to Kalyan, and then boarded a train to Uttar Pradesh, officials said.
Earlier Arrests and Role of Other Accused : Earlier, five accused were arrested from Pune for allegedly supplying the motorcycle and pistol to the main shooter at the behest of prime accused Shubham Lonkar. The case has been registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Arms Act and the Maharashtra Police Act, with provisions of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) invoked.
Weapon Yet to be Recovered, Encrypted Chats Under Scanner
During court proceedings, the prosecution argued that the accused had been absconding across multiple states for 16 days after the incident and that the weapon used in the crime is yet to be recovered. Police also informed the court that the accused were in contact through encrypted messaging platforms and that more individuals may be under the scanner.
STF Assistance and Gang Link,: The arrests were made in coordination with the Uttar Pradesh STF and Haryana STF following a request from Mumbai Police. Officials said the firing was allegedly orchestrated at the behest of the Shubham Lonkar gang to create terror and assert dominance in the film industry.
Accused Took Shelter at Agra Factory, Noida Residence After Firing
Investigations revealed that Deepak Sharma allegedly admitted that most co-accused were aware of the conspiracy. Jatin Bhardwaj, identified as Sharma’s cousin, had allegedly provided him ₹1,500 for travel expenses. After the firing, Deepak and Sonu reportedly took shelter at a factory in Agra where co-accused Ritik worked as a supervisor, and later stayed at Vishal’s residence in Noida.
Police said Vishnu Kushwaha was also involved in hatching the conspiracy and had links to members of the Lonkar gang. Further investigation is underway.
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