top of page

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.

Breaking the Peloton

Writer: Kiran D. Tare
Kiran D. Tare
Aug 7
3 min read

Harshita Jakhar’s appearance at the Tour de France Femmes is signals India’s arrival in sporting arenas long dominated by Europe.

 

India’s sporting successes have traditionally been concentrated in disciplines where geography or colonial legacy created favourable conditions. While cricket grew into a national religion, hockey delivered decades of global dominance. Wrestling, badminton, shooting and now, increasingly, chess have flourished through sustained investment and nurturing of talent.

 

Yet some disciplines have remained stubbornly foreign. The Tour de France, for instance, with its punishing mountain stages, century-old European traditions and deeply entrenched professional circuits, belonged firmly to this category.

This seemingly impregnable bastion has now been breached by 19-year-old Harshita Jakhar, whose recently became the first Indian woman to feature at the Tour de France Femmes, cycling alongside emerging riders from Afghanistan, Algeria, Chile, Ethiopia, Namibia and Uganda under the Union Cycliste Internationale’s World Cycling Talent Programme.

 

While Harshita’s ride through the ceremonial opening of Stage Two of the 2026 Tour de France Femmes may have lasted barely 4.5 kilometres, it was a moment of great import and symbolism.

The Tour de France is to cycling what Wimbledon is to tennis. It has been built over generations of mythology and European dominance. For Indian cyclists, merely entering that ecosystem has long seemed a distant aspiration. Harshita’s entry was a signal that despite the barriers still remaining formidable, they are no longer insurmountable.

 

Her participation in this elite event mirrors a broader transformation in Indian sport. With a rise in incomes and an improvement in sporting infrastructure, upwardly mobile Indian families are willing to back unconventional careers. As a result, many young Indians are now venturing into disciplines once regarded as almost exclusively European preserves. Alpine skiing, equestrian events, sailing, rowing and endurance cycling are no longer exotic curiosities reserved for white men and women.

 

The pattern extends well beyond cycling. In 2009, Reena Kaushal Dharmshaktu became the first Indian woman to ski from the Antarctic coast to the South Pole in 2009, while Kaamya Karthikeyan reached the Pole last year as the youngest Indian to do so. Their achievements have expanded the boundaries of what Indians could plausibly aspire to achieve.


Harshita’s ride belongs to this tradition. Her own journey has been remarkably grounded. Raised in Rajasthan, she trained at the Sports Authority of India’s National Centre of Excellence in Patiala under the watchful eye of her father, Rakesh Jakhar, himself a former cyclist who competed at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi.

She snared three gold medals at the 2025 Khelo India Youth Games, which announced her as one of India’s brightest cycling prospects. Earlier, she had collected a silver and two bronze medals at the 2024 Asian Junior Cycling Championships, demonstrating that her promise extended well beyond domestic competition.

 

Cycling presents challenges unlike most Olympic sports with a lot riding on the quality of sporting ecosystems. Unlike India, Europe possesses thousands of kilometres of dedicated cycling routes, professional clubs, sophisticated racing calendars and generations of accumulated expertise. Young riders grow up immersed in a culture where road racing is woven into everyday life. India is only beginning to construct comparable foundations.


That makes programmes such as the UCI World Cycling Talent Programme especially valuable. For talents like Harshita, exposure to elite competition cannot be replicated in training camps alone. Riding alongside the world’s best, absorbing tactical nuances, learning race management and simply becoming comfortable within cycling’s highest circles all contribute towards the fulfilment of promise.


India’s sporting story increasingly depends on precisely these forms of international integration. Two decades ago, an Indian woman participating in an event associated with the Tour de France would have seemed implausible. But Harshita’s presence has now shattered those barriers.


By representing India at one of cycling’s grandest stages, Harshita has expanded the country’s sporting horizon. Young Indian cyclists watching her in Switzerland may now imagine themselves competing in races that previously existed only on television.

 

Her appearance, however symbolic, is part of a tradition where young Indians have begun appearing in sports like Formula racing, rowing, fencing, squash and equestrian events - disciplines that once seemed distant from the country’s sporting DNA.

 

For generations, the peloton belonged almost entirely to Europe. Now, it is making room for the rest of the world. Harshita Jakhar’s ride in Switzerland has shown that India now belongs to the conversation.

Comments

bottom of page