MUMBAI, Maharashtra — Mumbai Police have invoked the Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act against five accused in the firing incident at filmmaker Rohit Shetty’s residence, and a special court on Wednesday remanded all five to police custody until February 17, 2026.
The accused were produced before a special MCOCA court after their earlier period of police custody ended. The Mumbai Crime Branch sought 15 days of further custody, but the court granted custody only until February 17.
Investigators told the court that the accused were acting on instructions from an absconding suspect, Shubham Lonkar, who allegedly sought to spread fear in Mumbai and had directed the accused to carry out a major act in the city. Police said the arrested accused were in contact with Lonkar through a single mobile application and that Rs 40,000 was transferred by Lonkar to the bank account of one of the accused.
According to the Crime Branch, Lonkar had provided three firearms to his brother, Praveen Lonkar, who then passed the weapons to the accused arrested in the Rohit Shetty firing case.
The case relates to an incident in which five rounds were fired at Shetty’s residence in the Juhu area of Mumbai. Police said their investigation revealed that the vehicle used in the firing was sourced from Pune.
The vehicle reportedly belonged to a Pune resident who sold it to one of the accused, Aditya Gayki, for Rs 30,000 a few days before the incident. Police said Gayki and another accused, Samarth Pomaji, later abandoned the vehicle at a pre-decided location in Juhu.
According to investigators, those who transported the vehicle to Mumbai were not aware of the shooter’s identity. Police allege that Lonkar subsequently instructed the shooter to collect the vehicle from the location and carry out the firing.
The Mumbai Crime Branch said the investigation is ongoing as it seeks to trace the absconding accused and establish the full chain of events behind the attack. (Source: IANS)
