Tiger Shroff car firing: four accused in weapon supply sent to police custody till October 26

Four people accused of helping supply the weapon used in the firing on actor Tiger Shroff's car were sent to police custody till October 26 by a Mumbai court on Thursday. Two of the four are women. They were produced before the Esplanade Magistrate's Court after being brought to the city from Delhi.

The accused are Kunal Singh, 21, who comes from Rohna village in Haryana's Sonipat district; Sumit, 19, of Kharkhoda in Sonipat; Radha Verma, 23, of Sitapur in Uttar Pradesh; and Babita Rao, 23, of Azamgarh in the same state. The filings spell Sumit's surname differently, as Sorolia and as Surliya.

The Special Cell of the Delhi Police's Northern Range took the four into custody on October 20. Radha and Babita were caught at New Delhi railway station, while Kunal and Sumit were picked up in Sonipat. The Maharashtra Police's Criminal Investigation Department (CID) then formally arrested them in this case.

The prosecution asked for police custody till October 31. It told the court that the weapon used in the attack has still not been recovered, and that the four were responsible for supplying the pistol and cartridges. Police said the accused were actively involved in the conspiracy along with those arrested earlier.

As police tell it, Kunal collected a pistol and 20 rounds from Amritsar at the instance of one Anil Pandit, with Sumit going along. Kunal then allegedly persuaded Radha to carry the weapon to Mumbai. On October 15 he took Radha and Babita to New Delhi railway station, and the pistol was allegedly hidden in Radha's bag. The two women are said to have travelled by train and handed it over to the shooters.

Police further allege that after the firing on October 18, Anil told Kunal to arrange for the shooters to get away, as they were reportedly stuck in Mumbai. Radha and Babita then went back to Delhi by train.

The defence opposed police custody and asked for judicial custody. Advocate Sachin Patil argued that police had so far been unable to establish even the make of the pistol, that no co-accused's statement had been recorded before the arrests, and that police had already had ample time for questioning. He said an arrest on suspicion alone is not a valid ground for custody and asked what evidence tied the women to the case. In his view, call detail records and electronic evidence would be enough. He also pointed out that the custody of three other accused, remanded on Wednesday, had only just begun.

Another defence lawyer, Advocate Ajinkya Mirgal, argued that the two women were not at the spot of the firing and need not be questioned further in custody, and urged the court to send them straight to judicial custody. The defence also said police had been unable to link the accused to the supply of weapons and ammunition, and that the women were being implicated only on suspicion.

After hearing both sides, the magistrate granted police custody till October 26. The accused made no complaint of ill-treatment by police, though Kunal Singh was seen with a bandage on his head.

The firing took place on the evening of October 18 in Juhu, when at least two men shot at Shroff's car and fled on a motorcycle. The actor was not seriously hurt, but his driver and a passer-by were injured. Ten people have been arrested so far. On Wednesday, the court sent three of them, Rehan alias Sukka, Ritik Kurmi alias Roshan and Phool Singh, to police custody till October 31.