Hours after firing at Bollywood director’s Juhu home, four arrested from Pune

The accused were intercepted by Pune police based on a tip-off from Mumbai police, and handed over to the Mumbai crime branch which is investigating the case, Pune police commissioner Amitesh Kumar told reporters

Mumbai/ Pune:

While no one was injured in the firing incident, the shots were seemingly targeted at Shetty’s personal gymnasium located on the first floor of the building, police officers said. (Satish Bate/ Hindustan Times)

Hours after unidentified assailants fired five rounds outside a 10-storeyed building in Juhu owned by Bollywood director Rohit Shetty, four young men were arrested for allegedly abetting the attack.

The four men were among five suspects intercepted by Pune police based on a tip-off from Mumbai police. All five were handed over to the Mumbai crime branch which is investigating the case, Pune police commissioner Amitesh Kumar told reporters.

“At this stage, we can only say that they have been detained for aiding and abetting. Further investigation will be carried out by the Mumbai police,” Kumar said; none of the detainees had any prior criminal record, he noted.

Late in the night on Sunday, Mumbai police said four of the suspects had been arrested while a fifth had been served a notice.

The arrested accused were Siddharth Deepak Yenpure, 20; Samarth Shivshankar Pomaji, 18; Swapnil Bandu Sakat, 23; and Aditya Dnyaneshwar Gayake, 19. Aman Anand Marothe, 27, was served a notice and will be called for questioning later, police officers said. All five suspects are residents of Dhayari and Warje-Malwadi areas in Pune and work in the informal sector, they noted.

Sources in Mumbai police said that while the weapon used in the firing was yet to be recovered and the type of the firearm used in the incident was still unknown, they suspected the accused were linked to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang.

“The four arrested accused will be produced before the court on Monday,” an officer familiar with the case said, requesting not to be identified.

‘Gym targeted’

Shetty’s residence, the 10-storeyed ‘Shetty Tower’, is located on Hasya Kalakar Mehmood Chowk in Juhu. CCTV footage from the area showed a man approaching the building on foot and opening fire with a weapon at 12.40am on Sunday, said inspector Pravin Patil from Juhu police station, where a case on endangering human life was registered; the probe was later transferred to the Mumbai crime branch.

On Sunday morning, Mumbai Police Commissioner Deven Bharti confirmed the incident and said unidentified persons had fired shots at the building.

Investigators suspect the assailant came to Juhu from Pune on a motorcycle, parked it 200 metres away from the building, walked over, conducted a reconnaissance, and fired five times at the building’s first floor. He then sped away on the bike 2 kilometres away, abandoned it, and asked an auto-rickshaw driver if he would take him to Kalyan.

“The driver told him Kalyan was too far and offered to drop him at a nearby railway station instead. We recovered the bike later and based on its registration number, alerted the Pune police,” the officer quoted earlier said.

A forensic team also recovered five bullets from the incident spot, which have been sent to the forensic laboratory in Kalina for examination.

Based on information from Mumbai police, Pune police’s anti-extortion unit intercepted five suspects from the outskirts of the city on Sunday afternoon, and handed them over to the Mumbai crime branch.

Investigators suspect that Aman Marothe, who was served a notice, was the owner of the bike using which the attack was carried out. Marathe gave it to Aditya Gayake who then gave it to Siddharth Yenpure, who carried out the attack, they said.

When Pune’s Deputy Commissioner of Police (zone 3) Sambhaji Kadam was asked about the exact role of the five detained accused, he declined to share details, saying that the matter was under investigation by Mumbai police.

While no one was injured in the firing incident, the shots were seemingly targeted at Shetty’s personal gymnasium located on the first floor of the building, police officers said.

Shetty is known to maintain a strict fitness routine and works out regularly at the gym.

Police have recorded Shetty’s statement, and he has confirmed that he has not received any threats till date, investigators said.

Shetty’s spokesperson said the police had asked the director not to speak to the media about the incident.

Bishnoi gang link

Soon after the firing incident, a Facebook page titled ‘Shubham Lonkar Aarzoo Bishnoi’, allegedly linked to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, claimed responsibility for the attack, and threatened others in Bollywood to “fall in line”.

A post on the page said Shetty had been warned several times to not interfere in their work but he was adamant. This time, bullets had been fired outside his house but the next time, they would be fired at his chest, the post stated.

Police suspect the page is linked with Shubham Lonkar, a wanted accused in the murder of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and former minister Baba Siddique, who was shot dead in broad daylight in Bandra in October 2024.

Following Siddique’s murder, Pune police had launched a manhunt for Lonkar. While he was not found at his home in Pune’s Warje-Malwadi area, his brother, Pravin Lonkar, 28, was later arrested in the Siddique murder case.

Investigators said they are closely examining the modus operandi of the attack on Shetty’s residence to look for clues on links with the Bishnoi gang.

“The detained accused may have come in contact with Lonkar and offered logistical assistance,” said the officer quoted earlier.