Shots fired at Rohit Shetty home in Mumbai

MUMBAI: A bike-borne gunman fired five rounds at the Juhu bungalow of filmmaker Rohit Shetty shortly after midnight on Sunday and was arrested along with three others from Pune a few hours later. Shetty and his family were at home but no one was injured, police said.Gangster Shubham Lonkar, an associate of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, posted a message on social media claiming responsibility. The motive is not clear, considering that Shetty reportedly had not received any threat message or extortion demands; the make of the weapon is being ascertained, police said.The arrested men are Swapnil Sakat (23), Siddharth Yenpure (20), Aditya Gayaki (19) and Samarth Pomaji (18). One is a college student; the others are unemployed. Cops haven’t said who among them is the gunman.Police probe if firing could be linked to Shetty’s upcoming film projectsA fifth, Aman Marote (27), also from Pune, has been served a notice and will be called for questioning. The firing took place at 12.45am on the first floor of Shetty Tower, Hasya Kalakar Mehmood Chowk, Juhu. Lonkar’s post, written in Hindi and English, said: “Ram Ram, Jai Bajrang Bali, to all brothers. We, Shubham Lonkar, Aarzoo Bhishnoi, Hari Boxer, and Harman Shandu, take responsibility for the firing that took place today at film director Rohit Shetty’s house (Shetty Tower) in Mumbai.”It further said: “We messaged him many times telling him not to interfere in our work, but he didn’t understand. We’ve given him this small trailer. If he doesn’t understand our message and doesn’t listen to us, then the next bullet won’t be fired outside his house, but inside his bedroom, right in his chest. And this is a warning to the entire Bollywood industry: mend your ways while you still have time, otherwise, your situation will be very bad.”Police said they are verifying the claim made in the social media post, given that Shetty is not known to have received threats.The suspect came on a bike from Pune (from where he left on Saturday), fired five rounds and abandoned his bike 2km away, police said. “The bike had a Pune registration. One of the detained suspects travelled from Pune on the bike, reached Juhu late at night and was captured on CCTV near Shetty’s building,” police said. “We followed the CCTV trails and found the suspect abandoned the bike 2km from Shetty’s building. From there he vanished,” said an officer from Juhu police station.The officer said the bike was not stolen and was owned by one of the detained suspects, and it is in the custody of Mumbai Crime Branch and Anti-Extortion Cell. “The bike details helped to track down one of the suspects, whose name the bike is registered under. This led us to the other four suspects.”Police are probing if the firing could be linked to Shetty’s upcoming film projects. Shetty shares close ties with senior Mumbai police officers and is often seen sharing the dais with top IPS officers during awareness campaigns and entertainment programmes organised for policemen and their families. Shetty recently acquired the rights to former police commissioner Rakesh Maria’s book on the underworld. Police have increased security around Shetty’s residence. Police and forensic teams secured the premises to carry out a detailed examination.The police said Shetty’s guards witnessed the firing. Shetty has three guards in the building. “The guards were inside the building, with one having gone to the toilet. All rushed out on hearing bullet sounds. The bullets struck the first floor and the wall of the building. Shetty called the police,” said a crime branch officer.It is in Pune where the Bishnoi gang is believed to have hatched the murder plot of NCP MLA Baba Siddiqui. Mumbai police had arrested four suspects in the murder case from the Karvenagar and Shivane areas of Pune. Among them was Pravin, the brother of Shubham Lonkar who ran a dairy in Karvenagar. A senior crime branch official said, “So far, we have not found any direct link between the suspects detained in the Juhu firing case and those arrested in the Siddiqui murder case. However, this angle is being examined.”In 2024, two motorcycle-borne assailants allegedly linked to the Bishnoi gang had fired shots at actor Salman Khan’s residence in Bandra.