Firing at Rohit Shetty’s residence: Police nab 5th accused

Mumbai Police on Thursday arrested a fifth accused in connection with the firing incident at filmmaker Rohit Shetty’s residence and told a court that all those held so far were acting on the instructions of Shubham Lonkar, an absconding member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang.

The latest arrest is that of Asaram Fasale, a resident of Pune, who was produced before a magistrate’s court and remanded in police custody till 11 February. The court also extended the police custody of the four other accused in the case till the same date.

Police said Fasale is suspected to have supplied the firearm used in the attack. According to investigators, at least five rounds were fired at the first floor of Shetty’s nine-storey residential building in the Juhu area at around 12.45 am on Sunday. One of the bullets hit the glass façade of a gym located inside the building. No injuries were reported in the incident.

The alleged shooter, however, is yet to be arrested, police said.

Investigators told the court that all five accused were in contact with Shubham Lonkar, who has been named as a wanted accused in the case. Lonkar is also wanted in connection with the murder of NCP leader Baba Siddique and a separate firing incident outside actor Salman Khan’s Bandra residence, police said.

The four accused arrested earlier — Aditya Gayaki (19), Siddharth Yenpure (20), Samarth Pomaji (18) and Swapnil Sakat (23) — were taken into custody on Sunday. During the investigation, police seized a pistol, three magazines and an air gun from one of the accused.

Seeking extended custody, police informed the court that the accused had acted as part of a criminal conspiracy and were following instructions received from Lonkar. They said custodial interrogation was required to trace the absconding accused, identify the shooter and recover additional weapons.

Defence lawyers opposed the plea. Advocate Archana Mane, appearing for Swapnil Sakat, argued that her client was accused only of being in contact with Lonkar through the Signal messaging app and that his custodial interrogation was no longer required as his mobile phone had already been seized. Advocate Ajinkkya Mirdul, representing Gayaki, Yenpure and Pomaji, contended that his clients had merely sold a motorcycle and were unaware of how it would be used.

Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate V.R. Patil, after hearing both sides, observed that the offence appeared serious in nature. The court noted that the case diary indicated progress in the investigation and that further probing, including joint interrogation of the accused, was necessary, especially in view of Fasale’s recent arrest.

The court consequently granted police custody of all five accused till 11 February.