PATNA: Family members of Hritik Kumar alias Roshan, one of the key accused in the Bollywood actor Tiger Shroff firing case, on Thursday admitted that he had been arrested by Mumbai police. They, however, pleaded Hritik’s innocence.
Hritik’s mother, Sanyukta Devi, who runs a tea-cum-cosmetics shop in Begusarai, said, “The family got information about Hritik’s arrest by Mumbai police in connection with the Bollywood actor’s firing case. My son is innocent. He can’t do this.”
She said that the last information she received from her son was that he was working as a cook in a catering agency in Delhi. He wanted to marry a girl from Rajasthan and had gone to Surat (Gujarat) for wedding shopping, she revealed.
Begusarai Superintendent of Police (SP) Maneesh confirmed that the police interrogated Hritik’s parents at their residence. He has two younger brothers and sisters. “We also collected information about Hritik’s credentials,” the SP told the media.
The family told the interrogators that Hritik left his village in search of a job about two years ago. He first started working as a cook in a catering agency in Delhi. About three months ago, he shifted to Mumbai, where he worked as a cook at a restaurant and as a bike-taxi driver.
He studied up to Class 12 (Intermediate) at a local college before leaving home in search of a job. Locals recall that Hritik was very particular about his lifestyle even in his native village. “His lifestyle has completely changed after shifting to Delhi,” his neighbour said.
The 22-year-old suspect from Bihar’s Begusarai was arrested in Kota, Rajasthan, and subsequently taken to Mumbai for interrogation in the Tiger Shroff firing case. He was allegedly riding the two-wheeler when his accomplice fired shots at Shroff in Mumbai’s Juhu area.
Though Shroff escaped unhurt, his driver and a bystander were injured in the firing. Two alleged operators of the notorious Lawrence Bishnoi gang, Anil Pandit and Harman Sandhu, later claimed responsibility for the attack on the actor.