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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 8:56:24 pm

Accused trio get 10-day remand

Mumbai: A Mumbai Court has given 10 days police custody to three arrested accused in the firing on Bollywood action star Tiger Shroff in a crowded public place as the investigators attempt to unravel the conspiracy, motives, involvement of other players and related aspects of the sensational case, on Wednesday. The accused trio Rehan alias Sukka, and Phool Singh both from Sonipat in Haryana and Rhitik Kurmi alias Roshan, originally from Begusarai in Bihar but currently residing in Mumbai,...

Accused trio get 10-day remand

Mumbai: A Mumbai Court has given 10 days police custody to three arrested accused in the firing on Bollywood action star Tiger Shroff in a crowded public place as the investigators attempt to unravel the conspiracy, motives, involvement of other players and related aspects of the sensational case, on Wednesday. The accused trio Rehan alias Sukka, and Phool Singh both from Sonipat in Haryana and Rhitik Kurmi alias Roshan, originally from Begusarai in Bihar but currently residing in Mumbai, were brought here from Kota in separate vehicles early today. They were produced before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate at Esplanade Court where the police sought 14 days’ custody for the accused who are allegedly acting at the behest of the jailed mafia chief Lawrence Bishnoi’s gang. Pleading for the remand, the police lawyers argued that sustained custodial interrogation was necessary to recover the weapons used in the shooting – which the accused had thrown away while fleeing, retrieve two mobile phones which were reportedly destroyed by the accused, besides digging out the entire conspiracy, pinpoint the exact motives and identify other persons involved in the brazen attack. Opposing the plea, the accused’s lawyers Ajinkya Mirgal and Satyabrat Joshi argued that police custody was unnecessary, particularly for recovering the weapons. Mirgal and Joshi later told mediapersons that the accused had already been interrogated at a railway colony during their transit-remand period and were produced before the CMM Court just minutes before the transit remand expired this afternoon. After hearing both sides, the CMM remanded them to police custody for 10 days till October 31. It may be recalled that Shroff, 36, was targeted on the evening of October 18 near Pushpa Narsee Park in Juhu. Despite being a heavily crowded area, the assailants were seen firing at least 5-6 rounds at the actor’s car before fleeing on a motorcycle. A shaken Shroff escaped relatively unhurt, sustaining minor bruises, but his driver and a bystander suffered injuries. Following the incident, the Mumbai Police registered a case of attempted murder and offences under the Arms Act, and launched an interstate investigation involving Maharashtra, Haryana, Rajasthan, and later Gujarat and Delhi. The Mumbai Police formed 20 teams to hunt down the attackers, recovered the second-hand motorcycle outside Andheri station where it was abandoned and tracked their journey through different modes of transport from Mumbai to Surat and Kota. Acting on a tech-intel alert from Mumbai Police, the Kota Police lay in wait for them and apprehended them from the general coach of the Pune-Jaipur Superfast Express on Monday morning. Initial probe revealed that the assailants were planning to flee the country after travelling to the borders via Jaipur and Delhi. They were lured by the promise of sneaking them out of India to a foreign country, possibly Canada and rehabilitating them. Three key accused brought to Mumbai from Kota Three key accused apprehended in connection with the firing at actor Tiger Shroff’s car were brought to Mumbai from Kota in Rajasthan early on Wednesday, police said. Police brought them by road from Kota to Mumbai and, upon arrival, immediately took them to GT Hospital for a mandatory medical examination, an official said. Following the medical check-up, the accused were escorted to the Mumbai Crime Branch’s Anti-Extortion Cell (AEC) office for interrogation. The accused have been identified as Rehan alias Sukka, from Sonipat in Haryana; Ritik Kurmi alias Roshan, originally from Begusarai in Bihar and living in Mumbai; and Phool Singh from Haryana, the official said. The Kota city police had handed them over to Mumbai Police, which formally arrested them and produced them before a magistrate there. The court granted transit remand to take them to Mumbai. Meanwhile, advocate Ajinkya Mirgal arrived at the AEC office in Mumbai on Wednesday morning, informing officials that he would represent the accused as their defence counsel in the case. At least two men fired gunshots at Shroff’s car in Mumbai’s Juhu area on Sunday evening before speeding away on a motorcycle. The actor escaped relatively unhurt, while his driver and a bystander were injured. According to Mumbai Police, five to six rounds were fired at the car. A motorcycle, allegedly used by the shooters, was found abandoned in Andheri. The accused fled to Surat and once there, boarded a Jaipur-bound train. The three were supposed to go to Delhi on a bus and then flee to Nepal. The Mumbai Police have registered a case under the provisions of attempt to murder and the Arms Act. According to the police, Rehan was in touch with Anil Pandit, an alleged associate of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, which claimed responsibility for the attack in an unverified social media post. On Tuesday, the Delhi Police Special Cell arrested four more persons, including two women, in connection with the firing case. Police suspect they were acting on the directions of Anil Pandit, a gangster operating from abroad, an official earlier said. The four accused, identified as Kunal (21), Sumit (19), Radha (23), and Babita (23), were apprehended from Delhi and Haryana. According to police, Kunal allegedly collected a pistol and 20 rounds from Amritsar on the instructions of Anil Pandit, with Sumit accompanying him. Radha and Babita allegedly travelled to Mumbai with the weapon. Following the arrest, the police said the motive of the shooting was being ascertained, while the way Shroff was attacked, the assailants planned to kill him.

A Diplomatic Detour

Writer: Commodore S.L. Deshmukh
Commodore S.L. Deshmukh
Jun 29
4 min read

The Japanese Prime Minister’s decision to skip Assam is a setback for the Northeast, but not for the larger India-Japan partnership.

India and Japan share one of Asia’s most understated yet enduring partnerships. Long before the relationship acquired strategic significance, it rested on the quiet foundations of culture and civilisation. Buddhism travelled from the Indian subcontinent to Japan over many centuries, leaving an imprint that still shapes Japanese society. In the modern era, that cultural affinity has been reinforced by expanding economic ties, institutional cooperation and an increasingly convergent strategic outlook.

 

Strong Bonds

The architecture of this relationship is extensive. Organisations such as the Indo-Japanese Association have nurtured cultural and intellectual exchanges since the 1950s, while the Indo-Japanese Economic Cooperation Council has promoted investment, technology transfer and commercial collaboration. Diplomatic forums on both sides have steadily deepened mutual trust, reflecting a shared commitment to peace, stability and prosperity across the Indo-Pacific.

 

Security cooperation has become an equally important pillar. A turning point came in 2008, when India and Japan signed their Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Tokyo. Since then, bilateral ties have expanded to include regular “2+2” ministerial dialogues, defence exchanges, coast guard cooperation and joint military exercises. The Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement, which entered into force in 2021, has further strengthened operational cooperation between the Indian armed forces and Japan’s Self-Defence Forces. Together with their collaboration through the Quad, these initiatives underscore how the two democracies increasingly view each other as indispensable strategic partners.


The diplomatic warmth between the two countries, however, predates the present geopolitical moment. One of the earliest symbols of goodwill came in 1949, when Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru gifted an Indian elephant to Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo. At a time when Japan was struggling to recover from the devastation of the Second World War, the gesture carried emotional significance far beyond diplomacy. Three years later, India signed one of the first post-war peace treaties with Japan, formally establishing diplomatic relations on April 28, 1952.

 

India’s exports of iron ore contributed to Japan's post-war industrial recovery, while Japan gradually emerged as one of India's most dependable development partners. Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi’s visit to India in 1957 marked another milestone, paving the way for decades of Japanese official development assistance. Today, that legacy is visible in projects ranging from metro rail systems to the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail corridor, one of the largest Japanese-backed infrastructure investments overseas.

 

Against this backdrop, the decision by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to cancel the Guwahati leg of her July 2026 India visit has understandably generated disappointment, particularly in Assam. The annual India-Japan summit will now be held entirely in New Delhi. Official explanations have cited parliamentary commitments in Tokyo and scheduling constraints. Diplomacy often leaves little room for certainty, and itinerary changes are not uncommon. Yet symbolism matters in international relations, especially when a region is striving to position itself as a gateway to Southeast Asia.

 

Past Incidents

This is not without precedent. In 2019, then Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was forced to cancel his visit to Assam amid protests over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. That cancellation deprived the Northeast of an opportunity to showcase its growing strategic relevance within Japan’s vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific. It also served as a reminder that domestic political turbulence can sometimes carry unintended diplomatic costs.

 

The latest cancellation comes at an equally delicate moment. Assam has spent years projecting itself as an emerging investment destination. Improved law and order, expanding infrastructure and greater connectivity have encouraged the state government to court foreign investors with unusual vigour. Preparations for the Japanese delegation reflected those ambitions. Guwahati witnessed beautification drives, road improvements and hospitality planning. Japanese officials reportedly spent weeks assessing the local ecosystem, infrastructure and investment climate ahead of the proposed visit.

 

The economic stakes were hardly insignificant. Prime Minister Takaichi was expected to be accompanied by executives from more than 50 Japanese companies and organisations, including Suzuki Motor. Discussions were expected to cover industrial investment, energy resilience initiatives and financing mechanisms that could support infrastructure development in India and Southeast Asia. For Assam, hosting such a delegation would have provided a valuable opportunity to present itself not merely as a peripheral state but as a strategic hub connecting India to East and Southeast Asia.

 

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has understandably expressed disappointment while indicating that the state would seek greater clarity from the Ministry of External Affairs. Such restraint is prudent. More importantly, one cancelled visit should not be mistaken for a weakening of Japanese interest in the Northeast.

 

Indeed, there are indications that a high-level Japanese business delegation may still visit Assam separately. If that materialises, much of the economic momentum generated by the preparations could yet be preserved. The larger trajectory of India-Japan relations remains firmly positive, driven by strategic necessity as much as by historical goodwill. Both countries seek resilient supply chains, diversified manufacturing, secure maritime routes and greater stability across the Indo-Pacific.

These interests transcend the calendar of summit diplomacy.

 

For India, however, the episode offers a useful lesson. The Northeast has acquired unprecedented geopolitical significance as New Delhi's gateway to ASEAN and as an integral component of the Act East policy. Maximising that potential requires not only infrastructure and connectivity but also careful diplomatic management and political stability. Foreign investment is ultimately attracted by predictability as much as by opportunity.

 

While a cancelled visit may disappoint, but it need not derail a partnership built patiently over seven decades. If both New Delhi and Dispur draw the right lessons, the next Japanese delegation may arrive not merely as honoured guests but as long-term partners in the economic transformation of India’s Northeast.

 

(The author is a retired naval aviation officer and a defence and geopolitical analyst. Views personal.)

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