2 more taken into police custody in Tiger Shroff firing case, total now 10

Mumbai Police has detained the 10th accused, Jatin, in the Tiger Shroff firing case in Haryana's Sonipat. He allegedly arranged weapons for the attack. The case involves an alleged arms supply network, reconnaissance and three alleged shooters arrested earlier. Police are probing the accused's links with gangster Anil Pandit.

In Short

• Ankit allegedly spent 20 days conducting reconnaissance with the shooters
• Four suspects allegedly transported a pistol and ammunition through couriers
• The weapon bag was allegedly handed to a minor in Mumbai

Mumbai Police has detained Jatin, the 10th accused in the firing case linked to Bollywood actor Tiger Shroff, in Sonipat, Haryana. The process to formally arrest him has been initiated, Mumbai Police said in a press conference on Wednesday. Jatin allegedly arranged weapons for the attack.

Before Jatin’s detention, Ankit Rajesh Khatak and Sameer, both from Sonipat, were arrested in connection with the case. Ankit allegedly stayed in Mumbai for around 20 days and conducted reconnaissance alongside the shooters. He had also been in contact with higher-level links in the network, according to the information available.

The latest developments follow the arrest of four other accused -- Kunal, Sumit, Radha and Babita -- by the Delhi Police Special Cell on Tuesday. They were allegedly involved in supplying a pistol and ammunition to the shooters and were later handed over to Mumbai Police. Three alleged shooters had earlier been arrested in Rajasthan and handed over to Mumbai Police.

SONIPAT CONNECTION EMERGES

The Sonipat link in the Tiger Shroff firing case has deepened, with Mumbai Police arresting two more accused from the Haryana district, taking the total number of arrests to 10. The two accused have been identified as Sameer, a resident of Devdu village, and Nitin, a resident of Kharkhoda.

According to police, Sameer had arranged a conversation between Rehan and Anil Pandit, while the accused had travelled in Nitin’s vehicle. Nitin is also a friend of Sumit, who was arrested earlier in the case.

Mumbai Police put Sameer and Nitin before a court and secured their transit remand. The two were subsequently taken to Mumbai. Teams of Mumbai Police are continuing to conduct raids in Sonipat as the investigation progresses.

With these arrests, six accused from Sonipat -- Rehan, Phool Singh, Kunal, Sumit, Sameer and Nitin — have been arrested in connection with the firing case. More arrests are possible, with police keeping several other names on their radar.

FOUR ACCUSED ALLEGEDLY HELPED SUPPLY WEAPONS

Police alleged that Kunal, 21, and Sumit, 19, were involved in the alleged arms supply network. Radha Sunil Verma, 29, from Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh, and Babita Raj Ramjatan Rao, 24, from Azamgarh, allegedly carried the weapon by train to Mumbai and handed over the bag containing it to a minor.

According to police, Kunal had allegedly collected a pistol and 20 rounds of ammunition from Amritsar on the directions of gangster Anil Pandit. He allegedly remained in contact with the others through an encrypted messaging application.

Ankit, 18, who studied up to Class 12, allegedly stayed in Mumbai for around 20 days with the main accused and conducted reconnaissance during that period. Sameer, 20, was reportedly in contact with the main accused.

Kunal studied up to Class 10 and Sumit up to Class 8. Sumit worked at a clothing shop, while Babita had passed Class 12 and worked in electrical wiring. Radha, who studied up to Class 8, was reportedly Kunal’s girlfriend.

WHAT HAPPENED IN JUHU ON OCTOBER 18

The firing took place in Mumbai’s Juhu area on October 18, when three men on a motorcycle allegedly opened fire at Shroff’s car. The actor was not injured, but his driver and a passer-by sustained injuries.

Police are investigating the alleged roles of the accused, their links with one another and gangster Anil Pandit, and the movement of the weapon to Mumbai. Investigators are also examining how encrypted communications were allegedly used to coordinate the operation and the shooters’ attempted escape.

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Inputs from Kamaljit Kaur Sandhu