Four arrested over firing at filmmaker Rohit Shetty’s home; suspected Bishnoi gang link emerges

Mumbai: Four persons were arrested after bullets were fired at filmmaker Rohit Shetty's home in Mumbai on Sunday, with the initial probe pointing at their links with Lawrence Bishnoi gang member Shubham Lonkar, an accused in the Baba Siddique murder case.

The four were among the five persons detained earlier in Pune. They were brought to Mumbai, where a court remanded them in police custody till February 5, an official said.

Hours after the firing, a threatening social media post surfaced claiming that Lonkar was behind the crime, he said.

At least five rounds were fired at the first floor of the nine-storey building in the Juhu area at around 12.45 am. One bullet struck the glass of a gym located in the building, officials said.

Nobody was injured, and it was not known whether the filmmaker was at his residence in the Juhu area when the incident occurred in the wee hours, a Mumbai Police officer said.

Security outside Shetty's building was stepped up following the firing, he said.

"Zonal police and crime branch teams are investigating," he said, adding that Juhu Police and crime branch teams rushed to the spot and launched the investigation.

The police examined CCTV footage from around the building to establish the sequence of events. Forensic science and ballistic experts' teams also reached the spot to collect evidence, the official said.

A case was registered on charges of attempt to murder under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and under the provisions of the Arms Act.

Sambhaji Kadam, DCP (Zone 3) of Pune Police, said five men were initially detained by personnel from the Warje Malwadi police station.

They were identified as Aman Marote (27) and Aditya Gayaki (19), both residents of Karve Nagar; Siddharth Yenpure (20), Samarth Pomaji (18), and Swapnil Sakat (23), residents of Dhayari.

Senior Police Inspector Mahesh Bolkotgi said the suspects were handed over to the Mumbai Police.

According to police, the persons have links with Bishnoi gang member Shubham Lonkar, who is an accused in the NCP leader Baba Siddique murder case.

Late on Sunday night, the Anti-Extortion Cell of the Mumbai crime branch placed four of them under arrest after their roles came to light in connection with providing logistics to the shooters, an official said.

They were produced in a court, which remanded them in police custody till February 5.

A few hours after the firing, officials said, a post was shared on social media, claiming that Lonkar was behind the incident. The post, written in Hindi, was shared by the account of "Shubham Lonkar and Arzoo Bishnoi", a senior official said.

The post also mentioned the names of Bishnoi gang operatives Hari Boxer and Harman Shandu, the official said. "We messaged him many times asking him not to interfere in our work, but he did not understand," read the post.

Describing the attack as a "trailer", the post said, "If he (the filmmaker) doesn't listen, the next bullets won't be outside his house; they will be inside his bedroom."

It also said, "This is a warning to the entire Bollywood: stay within limits. If you do not improve, the situation will become very bad, worse than what Baba Siddiqui faced. Those we have contacted should mend their ways while there is still time. Otherwise, there will be nowhere to hide."

Shetty is best known for the Golmaal and Singham franchises led by Ajay Devgn and for the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Chennai Express.

Siddique (66) was shot at by three persons at Kher Nagar in Mumbai's Bandra area just outside his son Zeeshan Siddique's office on the night of October 12, 2024. He was declared dead at a hospital the same night.