Late-Night Firing Outside Rohit Shetty’s Home; Police Probe Bishnoi Gang Role

Four alleged gang members of Bishnoi Gang Member were arrested in connection with the firing incident outside Bollywood director Rohit Shetty’s residence in Juhu in the early hours of Sunday, police said. The accused, aged
between 18 and 23, were apprehended by Pune Police based on inputs from Mumbai Police.

The incident took place at around 12.42 am, when unidentified men arrived in a vehicle and fired five rounds outside Shetty Tower. One bullet shattered the glass of the building’s gallery. Rohit Shetty, who was on the sixth floor of the building at the time, was not injured.

Following the incident, police increased security at the filmmaker’s residence and collected CCTV footage from the surrounding area. Investigators identified a scooter used during the escape and traced its movement towards Pune, after which Mumbai Police alerted Pune Police.

Based on the information shared, Pune Police detained several suspects from the Waraje area. Four of them Aditya Gyaneshwar Gayaki (19), Siddharth Deepak Yenpure (20), Samarth Shivsharan Pomaji (18), and Swapnil Bandu Sakat (23), were later handed over to Mumbai Police and brought to the city on Sunday night for questioning.

Meanwhile, a threatening message claiming responsibility for the attack surfaced on Facebook from an account allegedly linked to gang member Shubham Lonkar. The post described the firing as a warning and threatened a more serious attack, stating that Shetty’s condition would be worse than that of Baba Siddiqui, who was gunned down in October 2024. The post was deleted shortly after it went viral.

According to Police, the accused were working as drivers and mechanics in Pune and were allegedly roped in by the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. Investigators suspect they helped arrange transport, shelter, and escape routes for those involved in the firing.

A case has been registered at Juhu police station, and the Crime Branch has taken over the investigation, forming 12 special teams. As Shetty had not reported any prior threat, police said they are examining all possible angles, including the involvement of a larger organised crime network.

Police sources said the method of claiming responsibility through social media and deleting the post soon after matches the Bishnoi gang’s earlier modus operandi. Similar tactics were observed in cases involving threats to actor Salman Khan and in the murder of Baba Siddiqui.

As per the investigation, the threatening post appeared within 45 minutes of the firing and was later removed, raising serious concerns. Lonkar is believed to be operating from an undisclosed location outside India and is suspected to be the mastermind behind the attack.
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