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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.

Muslim League Challenged Congress High Command

Writer: Akhilesh Sinha
Akhilesh Sinha
May 15
4 min read

New Delhi: The power equation that emerged between the Congress party and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) during the selection of Kerala's Chief Minister has revived an old question in Indian politics that Is the Congress still compelled to make key political decisions under pressure from its Muslim allies? The results of the May 2026 Kerala Assembly elections and the developments that followed have given fresh momentum to this debate.


In Kerala, the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) secured a sweeping mandate, winning 102 out of 140 seats and crossing the two-thirds majority mark. The Congress itself won 63 seats, while its ally, the Indian Union Muslim League, secured 22 seats. Of the 35 Muslim MLAs elected to the Assembly, 30 belonged to the UDF alliance, including 8 from the Congress and 22 from the IUML. This arithmetic ultimately became central to the power balance within the coalition.


The contest for the Chief Minister's post came down to K.C. Venugopal, considered close to the Congress high command, and V.D. Satheesan, the former Leader of Opposition. In the end, the Congress leadership was forced to endorse Satheesan. Political circles openly discussed the possibility that if the IUML and its supporting legislators firmly backed Satheesan, any resistance from the Congress high command could have jeopardized the party's return to power in Kerala.


According to political observers, members of the Nehru-Gandhi family reportedly held multiple conversations with IUML president Prof. K.M. Kader Mohideen, general secretary P.K. Kunhalikutty, and senior leader and MP E.T. Mohammed Basheer, urging them to support Venugopal's candidature. Yet the Muslim League leadership reportedly refused to relent.


Striking Aspect

Perhaps the most striking aspect of the episode was the appearance of posters in Wayanad. The posters warned Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi that if the "choice of the high command" was imposed on Kerala, Wayanad could become "the next Amethi." Some posters even described K.C. Venugopal as "Rahul Gandhi's bag carrier." The message was unmistakable that in Kerala's political landscape, local equations and the influence of the Muslim League had become more powerful than directives from Delhi high Command. Ultimately, the Congress high command appeared to have little choice but to yield.


Wayanad itself carries deep symbolic significance. Rahul Gandhi won the Lok Sabha seat from Wayanad in 2019, and the constituency later became politically important for Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as well. The IUML wields considerable influence in the region, which is precisely why the Congress leadership seemed unwilling to risk a confrontation.


In reality, this is not merely a Kerala story. Recent Assembly election data indicate that Muslim representation within the Congress's political structure has grown significantly. In Assam, 18 of the Congress party's 19 winning candidates were Muslims. In West Bengal, both seats won by the Congress were secured by Muslim candidates. In Tamil Nadu, one Muslim Congress candidate emerged victorious. In Kerala, meanwhile, the influence of Muslim legislators within the UDF has reached a decisive level.


This is why the BJP and its supporters have long accused the Congress of engaging in what they describe as "Muslim appeasement." Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself had earlier referred to the Congress manifesto as bearing "the imprint of the Muslim League." The Congress has consistently rejected these allegations, but the Kerala developments have undoubtedly handed fresh ammunition to its political opponents.


Lucknow Pact

The history of Congress-Muslim League relations has also remained deeply controversial. In the 1916 Lucknow Pact, the Congress accepted the Muslim League's demand for separate electorates, a move often seen as the formal beginning of communal political representation in India. In subsequent years, the Congress's support for the Khilafat Movement, its repeated attempts at accommodation with Muhammad Ali Jinnah, and its strategies during the politics of Partition (of India) all invited, intense scrutiny and criticism.


Even after Independence, ties between the Congress and the Muslim League never completely disappeared. Since the 1960s, the Congress and the IUML have maintained a durable electoral alliance in Kerala. Muslim League leaders continued to enjoy representation in government and ministerial positions. The Congress defended this arrangement as a necessity of coalition politics and social representation, while critics viewed it as an ideological compromise.


Contemporary Kerala appears to be the latest expression of this long political tradition. The Congress leadership, despite its preferences, could not install its chosen candidate as Chief Minister. V.D. Satheesan gained the advantage largely because he was perceived as a grassroots leader with stronger equations with the IUML. In contrast, K.C. Venugopal came to be seen as "High Command's candidate."


The episode also signals a deeper transformation within the Congress party itself. The once-dominant "high command model" now appears increasingly weakened, which historically exercised sweeping control over state units and leadership changes. Regional leaders and religious-social equations are exerting far greater influence. For perhaps the first time so visibly, the political limitations of Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi have come into public view.


"The League is being attacked as part of a hate campaign to create a divide in Kerala. My question to the people of Kerala is - if IUML is weakened, who will step into that vacant space? Communal forces will occupy that space. So, the League is a political party preventing that from happening. Those opposing it should understand that.”

V D Satheesan, CM-designate, Kerala

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