- Jailed gangster Anmol Bishnoi ordered a shooting at Rohit Shetty's Mumbai residence in January
- Shooter Deepak Sharma fled first attempt and later fired five rounds on February 1
- Anmol Bishnoi guided Sharma via live video call during the February 1 shooting incident
Jailed gangster Anmol Bishnoi had sent a shooter to open fire outside Bollywood film director and producer Rohit Shetty's residence in Mumbai in January this year. He, however, panicked and fled on his first attempt, according to a 1,624-page chargesheet recently filed by the Mumbai police in the case.
The shooter, Deepak Sharma, was then reprimanded by Anmol Bishnoi, the younger brother of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, who is currently in jail, over the phone.
10 days later, at around 12.45 am on February 1, he returned and fired five rounds at the first floor of Shetty's nine-storey apartment in the Juhu area, one of which struck the glass of a gym inside the building. No one was injured in the incident.
During the first attempt, Sharma hid outside Shetty's residence for about 30 minutes. He then panicked and fled without firing a single shot.
Following the failed bid, he communicated directly with Anmol Bishnoi, who scolded him and decided on a new date for the second attempt.
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According to the chargesheet, February 1 was then decided as the new date to attack Shetty.
On the night of the incident, Bishnoi, who was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in November last year after he was deported from the US in a case related to a nexus between criminal gangs and terror groups, remained connected with Sharma via a live video call to encourage and guide him.
He was on the call from the moment shots were fired at Shetty's residence until the shooter escaped, as per the chargesheet.
How Shooters Fled
Sharma and three other accused had come to Juhu on the day of the incident and fled in an autorickshaw to Kalyan in neighbouring Thane district after the firing. They held a meeting at another accused's house in Kalyan before escaping to the northern states by train.
The police said that the attack was not a spontaneous act but a premeditated conspiracy to establish the Bishnoi gang's dominance.
15 people, including the main accused Shubham Lonkar and Arzoo Bishnoi, have been arrested.
Lonkar and Arzoo, who are the Bishnoi gang members, had taken responsibility for the incident through a social media post.
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Lonkar is also wanted in the NCP leader Baba Siddique murder case and the firing at actor Salman Khan's residence in Bandra.
The accused were in hiding in a place in Haryana that had been provided by Ritik Yadav, who has also been arrested.
Besides Sharma and Yadav, others held so far are Sunny Thakur, Sonu, Jatin Bharadwaj, Vishal Thakur and Vishnu Kushwah, Aditya Gayaki, Siddharth Yenpure, Samarth Pomaji, Swapnil Sakat, and Asaram Fasale, the official said.
Shubham Lonkar's brother Pravin, who is behind bars in another firing case, was taken into custody for allegedly being part of the conspiracy as well as weapon supply, money transactions and brainwashing the accused persons.
The stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) has been invoked in the case.
