Four people were arrested on Sunday in connection with the shooting at filmmaker Rohit Shetty's Mumbai residence. Initial investigation has indicated that these people are associated with Shubham Lonkar, accused in the murder case of Lawrence Bishnoi gang member and NCP leader Baba Siddiqui. A police official said that the four people arrested are among the five suspects detained in connection with this case in Pune.
He told that the arrested accused were brought to Mumbai, where a court sent them to police custody till February 5. According to the officer, a few hours after the firing incident, a threatening post appeared on social media, claiming that Lonkar was behind the incident.
Officials said that at least five bullets were fired at around 12:45 am on Saturday night on the first floor of a nine-storey building located in Juhu area. He told that a bullet hit the glass of the gym located in the building. A Mumbai Police official said that there was no casualty in the firing and at present it was not clear whether Shetty was present at his residence at the time of the incident or not.
According to the officer, security has been increased outside Rohit Shetty's residence after the firing. He said, the local police and crime branch team are investigating the matter. The officer said that the police examined the footage of CCTV cameras installed around the building to link the incident. He said that a team of forensic science and ballistic experts also reached the spot to collect evidence.
According to the officer, the police have registered a case under the Indian Justice Code (BNS), attempt to murder and sections of the Arms Act. Sambhaji Kadam, DCP (Zone-3) of Pune Police, said that the policemen of Warje Malwadi police station had initially detained five suspects, identified as Aman Marote (27) and Aditya Gayaki (19), residents of Karve Nagar, and Siddharth Yenpure (20), Samarth Pomaji (18) and Swapnil Sakat (23), residents of Dhayari.
Senior Police Inspector Mahesh Bolkotgi said that the accused were handed over to Mumbai Police. According to the police, the detained accused have links with Lawrence Bishnoi gang member Shubham Lonkar, who is an accused in the murder of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Baba Siddiqui.
The Mumbai Crime Branch's anti-extortion cell arrested four of the suspects after their role in providing logistics to the shooter came to light, an official said. Officials said that a few hours after the firing, a post appeared on social media, claiming that Lonkar was behind the incident.
A senior official said that this post written in Hindi was issued from the accounts of Shubham Lonkar and Arju Bishnoi. According to the officer, the names of Bishnoi gang members Hari Boxer and Harman Shandu were also mentioned in the post. It was written in it, we sent him messages several times asking him not to interfere in our work, but he did not understand.
The post describes the firing as a trailer and says that if he (Rohit Shetty) does not comply, the next bullets will not be fired outside his residence; Would rather go inside his bedroom. It says, this is a warning to the entire Bollywood: stay within your limits. If you do not improve, the situation will become very bad, worse than Baba Siddiqui's situation. The people we have contacted should rectify their actions in time. Otherwise there will be no place left to hide.
Rohit Shetty is known for producing films like Golmaal, Singham and Chennai Express. Baba Siddiqui (66) was shot by three people outside the office of his son Zeeshan Siddiqui in Bandra area of Mumbai on the night of 12 October 2024. He was declared dead in the hospital the same night.
