Rohit Shetty firing case: Mumbai Police nab Agra man

The accused being transported under police security. PIC/BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

The Crime Branch of Mumbai Police on Monday arrested the main shooter, identified as Deepak Chandra, a resident of Agra, in connection with the shooting incident at filmmaker Rohit Shetty's house on February 1.

In a multi-state operation, the Mumbai Police, along with the police of other states, also arrested six more accused, taking the total number of arrests to 12 people so far. While Chandra and five other accused were arrested in Haryana, one more accused was arrested in Uttar Pradesh. Police have identified the other arrested accused as Sonu Kumar, 20; Vishal Thakur, 19; Jatin Bhardwaj, 22; and Hritik Vinod Singh Yadav, 24.

Filmmaker Rohit Shetty

The cops are now tracing the main accused gangster, Shubham Lonkar, who claimed to be a gang member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang and is also wanted in the Baba Siddiqui murder case.

A police source said, "Chandra resides with his parents and sister in Agra. He came in contact with the Bishnoi gang members last year. Chandra doesn't have any criminal records. He was unemployed for many years. He took training in firing from the other gang members." During the investigation, the anti-extortion cell found that the main shooter was present near Shetty's house along with the other arrested accused.

Planned escape

According to the police, after the firing, all the accused met at the Kalyan railway station, from where they escaped to Pune. Further investigations revealed that the accused, Bhardwaj, who is Chandra's cousin, had given him Rs 1500 for travel expenses. After carrying out the firing, Chandra and Kumar fled to Agra, where they stayed at a factory in which accused Yadav works as a supervisor. Later, the duo travelled to Noida and stayed at Thakur's residence. The accused persons had been on the run across various states for 16 days and were finally arrested in Haryana.

Police custody

Police said that following their arrest, all the accused were produced at sessions court, which remanded them to police custody till February 25. The weapon used in the offence is yet to be recovered, said police.