The Delhi Police Special Cell has arrested four people, including two women, in connection with the firing at actor Tiger Shroff’s car in Mumbai, suspecting that they acted on the directions of Anil Pandit, a US-based gangster allegedly associated with the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, PTI reported on Tuesday.
The accused have been identified as Kunal (21) and Sumit (19), both residents of Haryana’s Sonipat district, and Radha (23) and Babita (23), both from Uttar Pradesh.
The four were initially produced before a court under Section 35(1)(b) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). The Maharashtra Police’s Crime Investigation Department subsequently moved an application seeking permission for their custodial interrogation and formal arrest. The court allowed the plea and granted the Mumbai Police team three days’ transit remand, an official told PTI.
According to the sequence of events detailed by the Delhi Police Special Cell, Kunal had recently been released from jail on bail when a friend from Harsana village introduced him to Pandit, a 32-year-old gangster from Panipat who is allegedly operating from the United States.
Kunal began communicating with Pandit through an encrypted messaging application, the official said. On Pandit’s instructions, Kunal and his associate Sumit allegedly collected a pistol and 20 rounds of ammunition from Amritsar.
Around two months ago, Kunal met Radha and developed a relationship with her. He subsequently disclosed his activities to her and persuaded her to travel to Mumbai with a weapon, according to the police account reported by PTI.
On October 15, Kunal allegedly dropped Radha and Babita at New Delhi Railway Station, with the pistol concealed in Radha’s bag. He remained in contact with the two women through the encrypted messaging application during their journey, relaying instructions from Pandit, the official said.
The women arrived in Mumbai on October 17 and checked into a hotel after getting off the train at Dadar. At around 11 am, a minor boy allegedly collected the bag from Radha near the hotel.
The following day, at around 7 pm, firing was reported at Shroff’s car. Pandit subsequently informed Kunal that the shooters were stranded in Mumbai and instructed him to arrange their escape, according to the official.
Radha and Babita left Mumbai for Delhi aboard the Dadar-Haridwar Express on October 18. They were arrested at New Delhi Railway Station on Tuesday, while Kunal and Sumit were apprehended in Sonipat, PTI reported.
The police are investigating the alleged network behind the firing and the individual roles of the four accused.
(With inputs from PTI)