Townhall Times, New Delhi
Reporter: Bhavika Kalra
The silence of Juhu’s high-profile Shetty Tower was shattered at 12:45 AM on February 1, 2026, when five rounds were fired at filmmaker Rohit Shetty’s first-floor residence. For two weeks, the shooters were ghosts—vanishing across state lines and switching off their digital trail. That changed yesterday. In a massive, multi-state operation, the Mumbai Crime Branch, UP STF, and Haryana STF cornered the main shooter and six associates, bringing the total number of arrests to 12.
The Mastermind and the “Bishnoi” Shadow
While the men on the ground were the ones pulling the trigger, the investigation points to a much darker source. Police have identified Shubham Lonkar, a key aide of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, as the primary strategist.
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The Motive: This wasn’t a random act. Social media posts from Lonkar’s handles claimed the firing was a “small trailer” to warn the film fraternity against ignoring extortion demands.
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The Logic: By targeting a filmmaker known for “police-centric” action movies like Singham, the gang aimed to maximize the “terror value” and demonstrate their reach.
The “Agra Connection”: Anatomy of the Hit Squad
The main shooter, identified as Deepak Ramesh Chandra Sharma (24), was tracked down to a hideout in Bahadurgarh, Haryana. The rest of the “hit squad” consists of young men, mostly school dropouts from Bijauli village in Agra, who were lured by the “glamour” of the criminal underworld seen on Instagram and Facebook reels.
The Key Arrests:
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Deepak Sharma: The shooter who allegedly consumed liquor to steady his nerves before firing five rounds.
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Sonu Thakur (23): The “navigator” who lived in Kalyan for two years and provided the local topography knowledge.
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Vishnu Kushwaha (26): The primary contact point who linked the shooters to the Lonkar gang’s financiers.
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Logistics Team: Jatin Bhardwaj and Vishal Thakur, who provided shelter and cash to the shooters as they fled from Mumbai to Agra and then toward Delhi.
MCOCA: Throwing the Book at Them
This isn’t being treated as a simple case of “intimidation.” The Mumbai Police have invoked the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).
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Why it matters: MCOCA allows for longer police custody, makes confessions to senior police officers admissible in court, and makes bail nearly impossible.
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The Charge Sheet: The accused have been remanded in police custody until February 25, 2026.
The “Digital Ghost” Investigation
The breakthrough didn’t come from a single tip-off; it was a grueling process of “manual and technical” policing.
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The Telegram Trail: The gang used Telegram to coordinate, deleting messages almost instantly. However, human intelligence from the Pune arrests (where five others were caught earlier for providing the scooter and weapons) led the trail to Agra.
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Reconnaissance: Interrogations revealed that the team arrived in Mumbai on January 18 and conducted three separate surveys of Rohit Shetty’s residence to map out the escape route through the narrow lanes of Vile Parle.
Industry on Edge
The ripple effect of this arrest is being felt across Bollywood. From Ranveer Singh reportedly receiving similar WhatsApp threats to the Indian Motion Picture Producers’ Association (IMPPA) writing to the Maharashtra CM for a permanent security overhaul, the “glamour world” is currently on a war footing against organized extortion.
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