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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.

Pune set for Rahul’s women-centric outreach

Quaid Najmi
Aug 20
3 min read

Mumbai: The Maharashtra Congress is gearing up for its massive students-GenZ outreach programme in Pune on August 22, the fourth edition of its ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ series, which will be held as an all-women initiative for the first time and hosted by Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi.

 

The event, expected to draw around 10,000 young women, is being positioned by the Congress as a major outreach programme aimed at engaging with women students and the wider GenZ community on issues concerning their education, employment, safety and future.

 

Considering Pune’s importance as Maharashtra’s academic, IT and cultural capital, the Congress has planned a women- and GenZ-focused political engagement. The choice of Pune also carries historical significance, given the city’s association with pioneers of women’s education and social reform.

 

Pune is closely associated with social reformer Savitribai Phule, who, along with Fatima Sheikh, helped establish the country’s first school for girls at Bhide Wada in 1848. The city is also associated with Rajmata Jijabai Bhosale, who nurtured her son Shivaji Maharaj at Lal Mahal. Shivaji Maharaj later went on to establish the Maratha Empire and champion the idea of Hindavi Swaraj.

 

A spokesperson for ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ said that Gandhi’s interaction in Pune would focus particularly on issues affecting young women. These would include women’s rights, safety and equality, problems faced by girls in education, socio-economic challenges, workplace insecurity and discrimination, employment opportunities, freedom of expression and prospects for the future.

 

The Pune programme follows three earlier editions of the students’ outreach series held in Kota in Rajasthan, Dehradun in Uttarakhand and Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh since June.

 

The earlier editions largely focused on concerns surrounding examination paper leaks, irregularities in examination systems, problems in the education sector and delays in recruitment and employment. These issues have emerged as major concerns among students and their parents, particularly amid growing competition for government jobs and professional opportunities.

 

The Pune gathering, however, is expected to have a broader focus because of its women-centric format. Participants could also raise issues concerning recent student protests, police action against female students and alleged attempts by some state governments to suppress the voice of GenZ.

 

The Congress has also sought to use the programme to attack the BJP-led governments at the Centre and in Maharashtra over issues concerning examinations and recruitment.

 

Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal alleged that examination-related irregularities and paper leaks had become widespread under the BJP.

 

“The Vyapam scam has now spread nationwide,” Sapkal alleged, referring to the examination and recruitment scandal that came to light in Madhya Pradesh. He claimed that major examinations, including NEET, TET and judicial recruitment tests, had been affected by paper leaks.

 

Sapkal claimed that at least 154 examination papers had leaked during the past 12 years. He also alleged that the BJP’s proposed ‘One Nation, One Examination’ system could facilitate the alleged “sale” of question papers to specific castes and classes.

 

The Congress leader said the Pune event would provide young women with an opportunity to directly voice their concerns and interact with Gandhi.

 

The programme has also triggered a political response from the ruling BJP. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has criticised the ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ initiative, prompting Sapkal to hit back.

 

Sapkal said the BJP was free to send representatives to the Pune programme, which he described as open to all.

 

He alleged that the BJP was concerned by the response to the Congress initiative and was organising a ‘Tiranga Yatra’ to counter it.

 

Meanwhile, Sapkal, along with senior Congress leaders including Balasaheb Thorat, Satej ‘Bunty’ Patil, AICC leaders B M Sandeep and Rehana Riyaz Chishti, and state leaders Mohan Joshi, Ramesh Bagwe, Atul Londhe, Deepti Chaudhari and Prashant Jagtap, visited the SSPM grounds on Thursday.

 

The leaders reviewed preparations at the venue, including organisational and security arrangements, ahead of the August 22 event.

 

‘No match-fixing’
MPCC President Harshwardhan Sapkal took potshots at Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’s criticism of ‘Chhatraon Ki Goonj’, saying the BJP was welcome to sed anyone to the open-for-all Pune event to be addressed by Rahul Gandhi.
 
“The CM is under the impression that this will be akin to the GenZ interaction of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat with a select few students, like a ‘match-fixing’. Seeing the overwhelming response to our event, the BJP is rattled and is organizing a ‘Tiranga Yatra’ to counter it,” smiled Sapkal.

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