PUNE: Gangster Subham Lonkar, who allegedly masterminded the firing at filmmaker Rohit Shetty’s Juhu bungalow, had paid Rs 40,000 to two of the suspects to arrange the scooter used in the attack. The lone gunman came on the scooter and fired five rounds at the bungalow shortly after midnight Sunday, before abandoning it 2km away.Mumbai police arrested Swapnil Sakat (23), Siddharth Yenpure (19), Samarth Pomaji (19), and Aditya Gayaki (19), all residents of Dhayari and Karvenagar in Pune. Lonkar is still at large.“It was Yenpure who took the scooter to Mumbai with another person. Yenpure bought the scooter from another man in Dhayari, but it was not transferred in Yenpure’s name. Thus, the scooter owner too was taken to Mumbai for further probe,” deputy commissioner of police (Zone III) Sambhaji Kadam said.The suspect who fired at Shetty’s residence was spotted in CCTV cameras near Vile Parle railway station as he was fleeing after committing the crime, officials said on Tuesday. “Yenpure met Shubham Lonkar, who is the prime suspect and a member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. Lonkar made an online payment of Rs 40,000 to Yenpure and another person for the scooter,” an officer said.“Lonkar, who is a resident of Karvenagar, is using all his contacts in Pune city to rope in youngsters for the Bishnoi gang and execute crimes in Mumbai and other cities,” Pune police commissioner Amitesh Kumar said. The Bishnoi gang were also involved in the firing at actor Salman Khan’s Bandra home in April 2024 and the murder of former NCP minister Baba Siddique in October 2024.“None of the arrested youngsters has a crime record,” he said. “They do odd jobs like vegetable sellers, peon at a private school, and private drivers. Their parents are casual workers or employed as househelp.”
