Mumbai, Oct 26 (PTI) A court here on Monday extended till October 28 the police custody of four persons held for allegedly aiding the shooters in the Tiger Shroff firing case after investigators said they needed to collect voice samples.
Kunal (21) and Sumit (19), residents of Haryana’s Sonipat district, and Radha (23) and Babita (23), both from Uttar Pradesh, are among the 11 people arrested in the case.
Kunal, Sumit, Radha and Babita were produced before Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (Esplanade Court) S Khedkar at the end of their previous remand on Monday.
While seeking custody extension, police told the court two pistols and cartridges used in the commission of the crime have been recovered, adding the four had full knowledge of the conspiracy.
Investigation so far has revealed that Radha delivered the weapon, provided by Kunal, in Mumbai. She and Babita had booked a hotel in Mumbai by giving fake identity cards, police told court.
The investigation revealed that the accused were communicating through Signal app, which they destroyed. Data comprising photos and videos, including of the weapons used in the crime, has been recovered from their phones, police said.
In one of the photos, Kunal is seen posing with the weapons used in the crime, the investigators said. It has also come to light that the accused were in touch with wanted accused Anil Pandit through Signal app.
Custody was required for verification of this data, police said, adding that they needed to collect voice samples of the accused.
As per the police, these accused had travelled to Amritsar to procure the weapons, while the two women smuggled the firearms by train to Mumbai, handing them over directly to the attackers.
The defence, represented by Ajinkya Migral, contended that custody cannot be granted on mechanical grounds.
The confrontation between the accused doesn’t require strict police custody, and it can be done in jail as well with court’s permission. Hence, the accused should be sent to judicial custody, the defence argued.
After hearing both sides, the court extended police custody of the four accused till October 28.
At least two men fired five to six rounds at Shroff’s car in Juhu area on October 18 before speeding away on a motorcycle, which was found abandoned in Andheri. The actor escaped relatively unhurt, while his driver and a bystander were injured.
A case has been registered under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Arms Act for attempt to murder and other offences. PTI AVI BNM
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