Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], October 23 (ANI): The Esplanade Court in Mumbai on Friday remanded three arrested accused to police custody till October 28 in connection with the Tiger Shroff attempt to murder case.
The three accused—identified as Ankit Khattar, Samir Khatri, and Jatin Panchal—were apprehended by police from Sonipat, Haryana, and produced before the court for remand.
During the proceedings, the court inquired whether the accused had any complaints against the police, to which all three replied in the negative.
Seeking their custody, the Investigating Officer (IO) submitted before the court that the three individuals played pivotal roles in the crime. The IO stated that accused Ankit had travelled to Mumbai to conduct a recce, accused Samir was in direct contact with one Anil Pandit, and Jatin Panchal had allegedly procured the weapons used by accused Ankit and Samir. Citing their direct involvement in executing the conspiracy, the police sought their custodial interrogation.
Appearing for the state, Public Prosecutor Kranti Kumbhar pushed for an extended remand till October 31, arguing that several wanted individuals linked to the case are currently outside Maharashtra, requiring inter-state investigation.
"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 further informed the court that investigators have gathered substantial technical evidence, including multiple CCTV recordings from the spot of the incident as well as 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.
Opposing the police remand, defence counsel Ajinkya Mirgal pressed for judicial custody, contending that the police had already completed their recoveries and had no substantial ground to demand extended custody.
Speaking to the media after the hearing, Advocate Mirgal 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?"
The defence counsel also questioned the claims regarding the alleged 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.
Addressing the police's claim that two of the accused were in phone contact with wanted accused Anil Pandit, Mirgal argued that since the mobile phones of the accused have already been seized, forensic experts can independently verify call detail records without requiring custodial interrogation. He also argued that taking them back to Sonipat until October 31 was unwarranted when they were just brought to Mumbai from there within 48 hours.
After hearing both sides, the Esplanade Court remanded Ankit Khattar, Samir Khatri, and Jatin Panchal to police custody till October 28.
The court also permitted the defence counsel a five-minute consultation with the accused inside the courtroom itself to seek instructions regarding the matter and directed police to allow them to contact their families.
The case pertains to the shooting that took place around 7 pm on October 18 in Juhu, when actor Tiger Shroff was leaving a football club. The actor escaped unhurt, while his driver sustained injuries. (ANI)
Tiger Shroff firing case: Mumbai court remands 3 accused to police custody till October 28
