Mumbai: A special MCOCA court in Mumbai on Thursday remanded all 11 accused in the Tiger Shroff firing case to police custody till November 6, after the Mumbai Police sought further interrogation to uncover the alleged “deep-rooted conspiracy” behind the attack.
The accused were produced before special judge Satyanarayan Navandar after the police invoked provisions of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against them.
In its remand plea, the police alleged that gangster Anil Pandit, who is wanted in the case, had formed an organised crime syndicate involving people from Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar to establish supremacy and gain economic advantage in Mumbai by targeting prominent personalities.
According to the police, the syndicate operated through two modules — one responsible for reconnaissance and executing the attack, and another for logistics and weapons supply.
Five accused — Fulsingh Kumar, Rehan Rahisuddin Ansari, Ritik Ramu Mahato, Ankit Khatak and Sameer Khatri — allegedly conducted reconnaissance and carried out the firing. The remaining six accused — Radha Verma, Babita Rao, Kunal Jaminsingh, Sumit Saroliya, Jatin K Panchal and Pranjal Thakran — allegedly procured and delivered weapons, including foreign-made firearms.
Investigating Officer Assistant Commissioner of Police Sadanand Rane told the court that the syndicate allegedly used concealed mobile applications to keep communications secret. The police sought further custody to investigate financial transactions, examine call detail records and forensic reports, trace local support and obtain voice samples for comparison with seized voice notes.
Opposing the remand plea, defence advocate Ajinkya Mirgal argued that the accused had already undergone 10 to 11 days of custodial interrogation and that weapons and mobile phones had been seized. He also submitted that deleted WhatsApp and Signal chats had been recovered.
The defence further submitted the medical records of the ninth accused, claiming that he had only one functional kidney.
After hearing both sides, the court granted police custody till November 6, observing that further interrogation was required to investigate the alleged conspiracy and verify the material gathered by the investigating officer.
The firing took place around 7 pm on October 18 in Juhu, when two shooters allegedly fired five rounds at Shroff’s car as he was leaving a football ground. The 36-year-old actor escaped largely unhurt, while his driver and a bystander, who is a vlogger, were injured.
Members of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang purportedly claimed responsibility for the firing. Three of the 11 accused were arrested in Kota, Rajasthan, while the others were held at different locations in Delhi and Haryana.
The Mumbai Police said permission to invoke MCOCA was granted by the competent authority on October 27. Sections 3(1)(ii), 3(2) and 3(4) of the Act were subsequently added to the case, which was registered on October 19 under the provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Arms Act. Further investigation is ongoing.
(With agency inputs from ANI and PTI)