Mumbai: In a major breakthrough in the Feb 1 firing at filmmaker Rohit Shetty’s bungalow, the city crime branch and the special task force (STF) of Uttar Pradesh have arrested seven persons, including the main shooter linked to absconding gangster Shubham Lonkar of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang.Police identified Shubham Lonkar’s brother, Pravin, who is currently in Taloja jail in the NCP politician Baba Siddique murder case, as the mastermind. Shubham Lonkar had claimed responsibility for the attack by posting a message on social media hours after the incident and had actively participated in the conspiracy.The shooter has been identified as Deepak Chandra alias Sharma (24). The others have been identified as Sunny (23), Sonu Thakur (23), Hrithik Yadav (22), Vishnu Kushwaha (26), Jatin Bhardwaj (24) and Vishal Thakur. Most of them are residents of Bijauli village in Bah, Agra, while others hail from Gautam Buddh Nagar and Etawah. All the seven accused were produced before the special MCOCA court and were remanded in police custody till Feb 25. With this the number of arrests in the firing case reached 12. While seeking their custody, police said that they are yet to arrest four more accused in the case and they need to recover the weapon and mobile phones used in the crime.During joint interrogation, the accused allegedly confessed that they had conducted reconnaissance of the filmmaker’s residence in Mumbai before the incident and later opened fire using a semi-automatic pistol supplied by the gang. The weapon is yet to be found.During STF interrogation, the accused allegedly confessed that the attack was planned to create panic in the film fraternity and demonstrate the operational reach of the Lonkar gang. Police said the task of executing the firing was assigned through Vishnu Kushwaha, who reportedly had links with Goloo Pandit, an associate of the Lonkar gang allegedly involved in a Rs 5-crore extortion case in Sri Ganganagar, Rajasthan. Investigators said the accused were influenced by the gang’s glorified portrayal on social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram and sought to gain notoriety in the criminal underworld. “They admitted that they had conducted multiple reconnaissance visits to Mumbai prior to the attack to study the geographical layout, security arrangements, and escape routes near the filmmaker’s residence,” said ADG (law and order) Amitabh Yash.They also revealed that they kept changing locations based on media reports to evade arrest and received logistical support during their escape. Shooter Deepak Chandra also told police that when he developed cold feet, he consumed liquor before firing. Chandra confessed to the police that all the other accused, except co-accused Vishal Thakur, Jatin Bhardwaj and Hrithik Vinod Singh-Yadav, were aware of the conspiracy. At the time of firing, three other accused were in the vicinity of Juhu. Police on Monday also invoked additional criminal sections including destruction of evidence as investigations revealed that the accused had used the Telegram app to communicate and conspire. The posts were subsequently deleted to avoid getting tracked because the server of the app is in a foreign country. Chandra, acting on direct orders from Subham Lonkar, is accused of conducting a detailed reconnaissance of the target before carrying out the firing. He was reportedly assisted by 23-year-old Sunny Rakesh Kumar, who participated in the spot recce to map out the attack.Shubham and Pravin Lonkar allegedly served as the primary financier and strategist, providing the hit squad with arms, ammunition, a motorcycle, and technical assistance. To evade detection, the operatives communicated exclusively through the encrypted messaging app Signal, which was deleted from their devices immediately following the crime.During the preliminary inquiries the accused told police that they arrived in Mumbai and stayed in Sonu Thakur’s rented place in Kalyan and from Kalyan they came to Juhu and did several surveys before firing on Feb 1. “Immediately after the firing all dispersed and again met at Kalyan, from where they took a train to north India and stayed at their friend Vishal Thakur’s house. Now we don’t know whether Thakur had knowledge of the crime but he provided them shelter and gave money in Agra,” said an official. Accused Hritik Yadav, Sonu Thakur, Jatin Bharadwaj, and Vishal Thakur and Vishnu Khushawa are accused of harbouring the absconding accused and helping them evade arrest across state lines.
