By News Desk
Mumbai: In a breakthrough in the firing incident near filmmaker Rohit Shetty’s residence, Mumbai Police have arrested the suspected shooter and six others from Uttar Pradesh and Haryana in a coordinated multi-state operation, officials said. In a report, NDTV claimed the shooters were brainwashed in the name of Hindutva.
The alleged shooter, Deepak Rameshchandra Sharma, a resident of Agra, was apprehended by the city’s Anti-Extortion Cell with assistance from police teams of the two northern states. A Mumbai court has remanded all the accused to police custody till February 25 for further interrogation.
Police said the attack was allegedly orchestrated by gang member Lawrence Bishnoi’s associate Shubham Lonkar, who remains absconding. Investigators informed the court that the intention behind the firing was to harm the filmmaker and instil fear to establish supremacy.
On February 1, at least five rounds were fired at the first floor of Shetty’s nine-storey building in Mumbai around 12.45 a.m. One bullet struck the glass of a gym inside the premises. No injuries were reported, though the incident triggered concern over the safety of high-profile personalities in the city.
According to officials, the accused had conducted reconnaissance of the area multiple times before executing the plan. After the firing, they allegedly fled to Kalyan and later escaped to northern states, where they were tracked using human intelligence and technical surveillance.
With the latest arrests, 12 persons have been apprehended so far in connection with the case, while Lonkar remains at large. The accused have been booked under stringent organised crime and arms laws, and efforts are underway to recover the weapons used and trace other conspirators, police said.
This story was originally published in freepresskashmir.news.
