Tiger Shroff firing case: Court sends four accused to police custody till October 28

Tiger Shroff firing case: Court sends four accused to police custody till October 28 for voice sample collection, defence lawyer questions remand

A Mumbai court on Monday sent four accused in the Tiger Shroff firing case to police custody till October 28. The Esplanade Court, also called Killa Court, allowed the remand mainly so that police could collect voice samples.

Police had asked for custody till October 31, but the court did not agree.

Four accused produced for the second time

According to the ANI report, the accused, Kunal, Sumit, Radha and Babita, were produced before the court for the second time. They had earlier been kept on a three-day transit remand and questioned at length. Defence lawyer Ajinkya Mirgal Madhukar said the police wanted more time even though they had already recovered key items.“The four accused were produced in court today; this was their second appearance.

Initially, they had been placed on a three-day transit remand. During that transit remand, they were subjected to extensive interrogation. Furthermore, the police requested an extension of their custody from today until the 31st. However, all relevant items, including their mobile phones, SIM cards, and bank debit cards, have already been recovered.

So, the question arises: why would the police require further custody? That was the core of our argument today.

The court has remanded them until the 28th. This is solely for the purpose of collecting voice samples...” he said.

Court allows only two days

Advocate Vikesh Mehra, who appeared for accused Sumit, said the police had sought four more days. The court gave only two days, and only for the voice sample.“He was brought to court following a period of police remand. Now, the police had requested an additional four days of remand. However, the court has denied that request.

The court has granted a two-day remand after police said they need to obtain a voice sample. The court granted this two-day remand specifically for the purpose of collecting a voice sample. According to the police, Sumit’s role in this case is that he accompanied Kunal to Amritsar to procure weapons.

However, the police do not have any concrete evidence to prove whether or not he actually brought back any weapons..." Vikesh Mehra said.

Earlier remand of three other accused

On October 23, the same court sent three other accused, Ankit Khattar, Samir Khatri and Jatin Panchal, to police custody till October 28. Police had picked them up from Sonipat in Haryana. When the court asked if they had any complaints against the police, all three said no.The investigating officer told the court that Ankit had come to Mumbai to carry out a recce. Samir was in direct contact with a man named Anil Pandit, and Jatin allegedly got the weapons used by the other two.

Prosecution wanted longer custody

Public Prosecutor Kranti Kumbhar asked for remand till October 31. He said many wanted accused are outside Maharashtra, so the probe needs more time.“Most of the wanted accused connected to the present accused are out of state, and this needs a thorough investigation, which is a time-taking process. A short remand will not serve the purpose; hence, they should be sent to police custody till October 31,” the prosecutor submitted.The prosecution also said it has CCTV recordings from the spot and from the hotel where the accused allegedly held a practice firing session.“We have recovered CCTV footage from the hotel capturing movements before and after the incident. The hotel register has also been seized, but further investigation is needed on all these aspects. As we all know, it is a case of conspiracy, and conspiracy is hatched in secrecy, so this needs to be investigated in detail.

Therefore, a longer duration is a must in this case,” the public prosecutor argued.

Defence questions need for custody

Defence counsel Ajinkya Mirgal asked for judicial custody. He said the police had finished their recoveries. Speaking to the media, he said, “According to the police’s own submission, they have already seized the hotel registers, the crime scene footage, and the CCTV recordings showing our clients were not present at the spot. They also claim to have recovered the empty cartridges from the alleged misfire during practice at the hotel.

If all recoveries have already been completed, why is police custody required on the exact same grounds?”He also raised doubts about the weapon. “To our knowledge, no weapon has been recovered so far. Despite making around ten arrests, if they are still unable to recover the weapon, it raises serious doubts about whether such a weapon actually exists,” Mirgal said.On the phone contact with Anil Pandit, he argued that forensic experts can check call detail records without custodial interrogation since the phones are already seized.

He also called it unwarranted to take the accused back to Sonipat, as they had been brought to Mumbai from there within 48 hours.The court also allowed the defence a five-minute consultation with the accused inside the courtroom. It directed the police to let them contact their families.

About the case

The shooting took place around 7 pm on October 18 in Juhu, as Tiger Shroff was leaving a football club. The actor was not hurt, but his driver was injured.