Mumbai: Nearly a week after two bullets were fired at two separate flats of an Andheri-based housing society, Oshiwara Police arrested actor Kamaal R Khan in the case on Saturday. Police recovered a German-made pistol and 21 rounds from the actor’s bungalow in Versova.The motive is still being probed. Police said Khan was checking the pistol believing that one round was left behind in it. However, Khan’s lawyer, Nagesh Mishra, told mediapersons that the actor has not made any admission before the police.The bullets were found inside the apartments of writer Neeraj Mishra and model Prateek Baid on the second and fourth floor of Nalanda society in Lokhandwala on Jan 18. Impact marks were found on a plywood cabinet and walls. Nobody was injured. After the police were informed, they studied CCTV footage but nobody was found entering or leaving the society. The guard said he hadn’t heard sounds of gunfire. Police then took the help of forensic experts to find out what type of firearm did the bullets belong to. They then found out the firing range of such a weapon and checked which of the residents from the area had registered similar weapons. The police team, supervised by additional commissioner Paramjeet Dahiya and DCP Dikshitkumar Gedam, and comprising senior inspector Sanjay Chavan and inspector Sachin Patil, took Khan into custody after confirming that the bullets came from his 7.65 mm Mauser. Police said Khan has a prior crime record. Around 1pm on Saturday, Khan was produced before a magistrate court in Bandra and remanded to police custody till Jan 27. Adv Mishra argued that Khan had no intention of firing. “The actor is not acquainted with either of the people (in whose houses the bullets were found). He has a licensed pistol that he has kept at home for self-defence,” said advocate Mishra. The lawyer added that the range of a pistol is 20 metres but the bullets were found 400 metres away. Between Khan’s bungalow and Nalanda society, there are mangroves, roads and an under-construction structure. Advocate Mishra has also claimed that the actor was not served a notice as required under Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita, nor were the grounds of arrest disclosed to him.
