Mumbai, Oct 21 Actor Tiger Shroff was fired upon allegedly at the behest of Lawrence Bishnoi gang member Anil Pandit, the Mumbai Police told a court on Wednesday, even as the probe expanded to unravel a firearm-supplying network and other aspects following the arrest of five more persons.
Out of the eight individuals held so far, three key accused allegedly involved in firing at Shroff's car were brought to Mumbai from Kota in Rajasthan on Wednesday morning and sent to police custody till October 31.
Investigators told the court that the attack was allegedly carried out on the directions of Lawrence Bishnoi gang member Anil Pandit and further probe was required.
The crime branch of the Mumbai Police, which is probing the case, produced Rehan alias Sukka, from Sonipat in Haryana; Ritik Kurmi alias Roshan, originally from Begusarai in Bihar and living in Mumbai; and Phool Singh from Haryana, before a magistrate court and sought their custody for 14 days for a detailed investigation.
The police told the court that they needed to recover the weapons used in the crime and that the accused had destroyed two mobile phones.
The custody was required to unearth the conspiracy and the motive behind the incident, the police said, adding they needed to collect the electronic evidence, including the call data records.
The police told the court that the accused were arrested based on the analysis of CCTV footage and tracking of their bike.
Defence lawyers Ajinkya Mirgal and Satyabrat Joshi, however, opposed the police remand, saying the custody was not required for the recovery of weapons.
They also submitted that the accused have been interrogated during their transit remand.
The court, after hearing both sides, remanded the accused to police custody till October 31.
Tiger Shroff escaped relatively unhurt after two assailants fired gunshots at his car in the Juhu area on Sunday evening. His driver and a bystander were injured.
A motorcycle, allegedly used by the shooters, was found abandoned in Andheri.
The three accused were nabbed from a train in Kota the following day.
Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner of Police Raj Tilak Roshan said five individuals, including two women, have been apprehended from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, and are being brought to Mumbai.
He said sustained technical analysis and interrogation led the crime branch to the wider syndicate responsible for procuring and supplying the firearms used in the shooting.
Acting on precise intelligence and with the coordinated assistance of the Delhi and Haryana police, a series of simultaneous raids were conducted, the DCP said while addressing a news conference.
Delhi Police had identified four arrested accused as: Kunal (21) and Sumit (19), both residents of Haryana's Sonipat district, and Radha (23) and Babita (23), both from Uttar Pradesh.
Roshan said a deeply coordinated conspiracy is being unravelled during the investigation.
"Two of the arrested suspects had travelled to Amritsar to procure the weapons. The two female suspects then smuggled the firearms by train to Mumbai, handing them over directly to the attackers.
"The newly-arrested male suspect had stayed back in Mumbai alongside the shooters to provide logistical support and local assistance," Roshan added.
According to Delhi Police, Kunal allegedly collected a pistol and 20 rounds from Amritsar on the instructions of Anil Pandit, a 32-year-old US-based gangster from Panipat and an alleged associate of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, with Sumit accompanying him. Radha and Babita allegedly travelled to Mumbai with the weapon.
The Anti-Extortion Cell (AEC) of the Mumbai Crime Branch is investigating the case. A case was registered at Juhu police station.
Meanwhile, vlogger Umesh Chauhan, who was hit when shots were fired at the actor's car, underwent surgery to remove the bullet at civic-run KEM Hospital on Wednesday, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said.
Post-surgery, Chauhan's vital parameters are stable, and he remains under observation by doctors, it said in a statement.
