In the firing incident at the residence of noted Bollywood director Rohit Shetty, the court on Monday remanded all five arrested accused to police custody for six days, till February 11. During the course of the investigation, shocking revelations have emerged, with the case now being linked to the notorious Lawrence Bishnoi gang and accused involved in the former MLA Baba Siddique murder case.
Police recovered a pistol, three magazines and an air gun from the residence of accused Swapnil Sakat. Investigations revealed that the weapons were supplied by Asharam Fasale, who has been arrested from Pune. The prime absconding accused, Shubham Lonkar—also a key accused in the Baba Siddique murder case—was reportedly in contact with Fasale.
Police informed the court that the accused were influenced by activities of local criminal gangs in Pune and the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, which led them to carry out the firing incident.
It was further revealed that the accused communicated with each other using the encrypted messaging application ‘Signal’. In an attempt to destroy evidence, some of the accused deleted the app from their mobile phones after the crime. Police had sought 10 days of custody, stating that Asharam Fasale had supplied a total of three weapons, of which only one has been recovered so far. Efforts are underway to trace the remaining two weapons and apprehend the absconding prime accused.
Meanwhile, defence counsel Ajinkya Mirgal denied the allegations, claiming that the involvement of the first four accused was limited to selling a two-wheeler. He argued that they had no knowledge of how the vehicle was later used and denied any links between the accused and the Bishnoi gang.
The arrested kingpin, Asharam Fasale, has studied up to Class 11 and works as a mechanic. The other four accused are residents of the same locality—some are students, while others dropped out of their studies midway.
Police have initiated a forensic examination to ascertain whether the seized pistol was used in the firing at Rohit Shetty’s residence. Investigators are also probing whether other Bollywood personalities were on the gang’s target list.