Mumbai: AI tools helped police zero in on actor Kamaal R Khan over the firing at an Andheri housing society over a week ago. They mapped the paths the bullets took, which helped determine the shooter’s position and range, and digitally reconstructed the crime scene. Two bullets were found lodged in a cupboard and a wall inside the flats of screenwriter Neeraj Mishra and model Prateek Baid on the second and fourth floors of Nalanda Housing Society in Lokhandwala on Jan 18, about 300m from Khan’s bungalow. No one was injured. Khan, who owns a licensed 7.65mm Mauser, was arrested by Oshiwara police on Saturday and sent to police custody till Tuesday.The case was initially perplexing because neither did the CCTVs capture someone entering or exiting the building around the tentative time of firing, nor did the security guards hear any sounds of gunfire. Police reached out to forensic experts to determine the type of firearm used, learnt the firing range of the gun through AI-based GPS and sound tracking tools, and looked into residents in the area who had registered similar weapons.An eyewitness, in the meantime, reported having heard firing in Khan’s bungalow on Jan 18. Police once again used AI to see if the two cases could be linked. The Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) team’s findings showed that Khan’s bungalow was a very close match for the firing range and the possible trajectories of the bullets. The Nalanda building and the bungalow are separated by only a thicket of mangroves and an open ground.“The FSL team also confirmed that the make of the firearm used matched Khan’s pistol,” said an Oshiwara police officer. Khan had procured the licence for the gun in 2004 in UP, which was later registered with Delhi police and then with Mumbai police.Khan told police that the firearm got stuck while he was checking it and that it suddenly fired into the mangroves. “He claimed his intention was not to target anyone. We have seized his gun and 21 live bullets, two of which he fired,” said the officer. He had recorded 30 bullets while registering his gun with Versva police. Seven of the bullets are missing. “We are ascertaining where he spent them,” said the officer. Police said the cancellation of Khan’s weapon licence is under consideration.Khan’s lawyer, Nagesh Mishra, told reporters that the actor has not made any admission before police and that he had no intention of firing. “The actor is not acquainted with either of the people [in whose houses the bullets were found]. He has a licensed pistol that he has kept at home for self-defence.” He claimed that the pistol’s range is only 20m and questioned how the bullets could have travelled that far.City police had used AI in at least one case before, to crack a case of jewellery theft from a flat in Malad highrise in April 2025. They used AI tools to enhance blurred CCTV footage, arrested the thief in 12 hours, and recovered all of the valuables.
