Gunshots were fired at filmmaker Rohit Shetty's residence in Mumbai on Sunday, leading to the detention of five persons in Pune, with the preliminary probe pointing at their links with Lawrence Bishnoi gang member Shubham Lonkar, an accused in the Baba Siddique murder case.
Hours after the firing, a threatening social media post surfaced claiming that Shubham Lonkar was behind the crime, an official said.
At least five rounds were fired at the first floor of the nine-storey building in the Juhu area at around 12.45 am. One bullet struck the glass of a gym located in the building, officials said.
Nobody was injured, and it was not known whether the filmmaker was at his residence in the Juhu area when the incident occurred in the early hours, a Mumbai Police officer said.
Security outside Rohit Shetty's building was stepped up following the firing, he said.
"Zonal police and crime branch teams are investigating," he said, adding that Juhu Police and crime branch teams rushed to the spot and launched the investigation.
The police examined CCTV footage from around the building to establish the sequence of events.
Forensic science and ballistic experts' teams also reached the spot to collect evidence, the official said.
A case was registered on charges of attempt to murder under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and under the provisions of the Arms Act.
Sambhaji Kadam, DCP (Zone 3) of Pune Police, said the five men were detained by personnel from the Warje Malwadi police station.
The detained suspects were identified as Aman Marote (27) and Aditya Gayaki (19), both residents of Karve Nagar; Siddharth Yenpure (20), Samarth Pomaji (18), and Swapnil Sakat (23), residents of Dhayari.
Senior Police Inspector Mahesh Bolkotgi said the suspects have been handed over to the Mumbai Police.
According to police, the detained suspects have links with Shubham Lonkar, a member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, who is an accused in the NCP leader Baba Siddique murder case.
A few hours after the firing, officials said, a post was shared on social media, claiming that Lonkar was behind the incident. The post, written in Hindi, was shared by the account of "Shubham Lonkar and Arzoo Bishnoi", a senior official said.
The post also mentioned the names of Bishnoi gang operatives Hari Boxer and Harman Shandu, the official said. "We messaged him many times asking him not to interfere in our work, but he did not listen," read the post.
It went on to say, "This is just a trailer. If he (the filmmaker) doesn't listen, the next bullets won't be outside his house; they will be inside his bedroom." The crime branch is interrogating the detained persons and will arrest three of them as their roles have come to light in connection with providing logistics to the shooters, the official said.
Shetty is best known for the "Golmaal" and "Singham" franchises led by Ajay Devgn and for the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer "Chennai Express".
Siddique (66) was shot at by three persons at Kher Nagar in Mumbai's Bandra area just outside his son Zeeshan Siddique's office on the night of October 12, 2024. He was declared dead at a hospital the same night.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
