One dead, four injured in Chuna Bhatti firing

Mumbai gangster Sumit Yerunkar was shot dead by five assailants at a photo studio. Four others, including an eight-year-old girl, were injured.

Mumbai: Chunabhatti resident and alleged gangster Sumit Yerunkar alias Pappu was shot dead by five-pistol wielding assailants on Sunday afternoon. The incident occurred at around 3.15pm, when Yerunkar was at the Shri Photo Arts studio at Azad Galli in Chuna Bhatti to get a photograph with his associates Roshan Lokhande, 30, and Akash Khandagle, 31. Four other persons including Yerunkar’s associates and an eight-year-old girl were injured in the firing and are currently recovering after undergoing treatment at Sion Hospital.

HT Image

The attack was a fallout of personal rivalry, said police. A resident of Chunabhatti since his childhood, Yerunkar was an accused in 4-5 cases of assault, extortion and attempt to murder. He and seven others were arrested for firing on the office of a builder on February 5, 2016, allegedly because the builder did not give the contract for supplying construction materials to his gang. He and the other accused were booked under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) in the case, but they were all acquitted by a special MCOCA court in September 2023.

Preliminary investigations revealed that studio owner Vishal Uttekar was clicking pictures of Yerunkar and the latter’s associates were standing nearby when five pistol-wielding men approached the studio through Azad galli and began firing indiscriminately. The assailants might have parked their car some distance away from the spot, said a crime branch officer. Uttekar fled from the studio with his camera immediately while the assailants continued shooting, abusing Yerunkar in loud voices.

Yerunkar was hit by two bullets – one on his abdomen and another on his left shoulder. His associates Lokhande and Khandagle sustained bullet wounds on their right thigh and right hand respectively, whereas the eight-year-old Trisha Sharma who was playing nearby was shot on her right hand. Madan Patil, 54, also an associate of Yerunkar, sustained one bullet injury in his left ribs.

“Yerunkar was seriously injured and was shifted to Sion hospital, where he was pronounced dead. We have visited on the spot, secured the crime scene and informed the forensic team in Kalina to gather evidence,” said Hemraj Rajput, deputy commissioner of police of zone 6.

Police found 21 blank bullets lying within a 50-metre radius of the incident spot in Azad galli, said sources. Four shooters including Sunil Patil, Sagar Sawant and Naresh Patil were identified by police, and they all are residents of the same locality, said a police officer.

Local residents were in shock after the incident and most claimed they were sleeping in their houses and only heard gunshots. A woman in mid-forties who did not wish to reveal her name said she was washing clothes in her house when she heard gunshots. “I thought someone must be bursting crackers on the road and asked my daughter is there was any wedding or function in our society. My daughter opened the door and I also peeped outside, when I saw the small girl (Trisha Sharma) crying and running towards her home.”

Sharma’s aunt Kanchan said blood was oozing from the bullet injury on her hand when she reached home. “We were all scared and started crying. Trisha’s father Sanjay Sharma and other family members rushed her to Sion hospital,” she said, adding that Trisha was stable.

The police have formed nine teams to look for the assailants. The Mumbai crime branch is also conducting a parallel investigation in the case.