Firing Reported Outside Rohit Shetty's Residence in Mumbai
Officials said an investigation is underway and all possible angles are being explored to identify those responsible for the firing.
Mumbai: In a major escalation of underworld threats against Bollywood, four shots were fired by unknown gunmen outside filmmaker Rohit Shetty’s home in Mumbai in the early hours of Sunday. While the Lawrence Bishnoi gang claimed responsibility for the firing, calling it a ‘small trailer,’ police have detained five suspects in Pune in connection with the case.
According to Mumbai police, the incident took place around 12:45 am at ‘Shetty Towers,’ the director’s nine-story home at Juhu. Two individuals on a motorcycle fired five rounds at the building before quickly fleeing into the darkness. The director was reportedly present in the building when the shooting took place.
Soon after the incident, the police and forensic team reached the spot and started an investigation. The police also recorded the statement of Shetty. Although no injuries occurred, the forensic team stated that a bullet broke a glass panel in a gym on the first floor. The police cordoned off the area and the security outside the building was quickly beefed up.
The Lawrence Bishnoi gang claimed responsibility for the firing through a post on social media. A social media account claiming to belong to gangster Lawrency Bishnoi’s aide Shubham Lonkar, a wanted accused in the former MLA Baba Siddique murder case, and Aarzo Bishnoi has claimed responsibility for the firing and threatened others in Bollywood “to fall in line.”
The post stated that individuals named Arzoo Bishnoi, Shubham Lonkar, Hari Boxer and Harman Shandu carried out the firing after repeated warnings to not meddle in their affairs. “This was a trailer. If he still doesn’t understand our warnings, the gun will be fired not outside his house, but inside his bedroom on his chest,” the post read.
It further threatened the Bollywood industry saying, “Mend your ways or your condition will be worse than Baba Siddique’s. To those we have called – fall in line or you will run out of places to hide.”
Later in the day, Pune City Police apprehended five individuals in connection with the firing. The arrests were made in the Karvenagar and Dhayari regions of Pune based on information obtained from CCTV footage and technical monitoring. All five people are in their early twenties. They were suspected to be involved in the firing, following which they fled to Pune in a vehicle, said sources.
“We have apprehended five people from Pune believed to have connections with the shooters,” A senior Pune police official adding, “They have been transferred to the Mumbai Crime Branch for additional questioning.”
This event resembles the 2024 shooting near Salman Khan’s residence, where two motorcycle-borne persons had opened fire outside the actor's house in Bandra and fled the spot. Anmol Bishnoi, brother of Lawrence Bishnoi, has claimed responsibility for the firing saying the incident was only a ‘trailer.’ Lawrence Bishnoi’s gang has also claimed responsibility in the past for multiple attacks on actor-comedian Kapil Sharma's cafe in Canada.
The Indian Film & Television Directors' Association (IFTDA) has condemned the firing incident. In a statement, the IFTDA, while expressing their deep concerns for safety, also requested the personal intervention of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
The IFTDA statement reads, “The entire film fraternity is deeply shocked and concerned about the safety and well-being of one of the most respected and iconic filmmaker of the Indian entertainment industry. Such incidents create an atmosphere of fear and insecurity, which is unacceptable. We appeal to our Honourable Chief Minister Shri Devendra Fadnavis Ji to personally look into the matter, as this grave incident should not shake the morality and confidence of the entertainment industry.”
