Rohit Shetty house firing: Police custody of five accused extended till Feb 23
Mumbai (PTI): A special court on Tuesday extended the police custody of five accused, arrested in connection with the firing at Bollywood filmmaker Rohit Shetty's residence here, till February 23.
Their further remand was needed for a joint interrogation with those arrested later, police told the special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court.
So far, 12 persons have been arrested in the case, including the seven nabbed from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on Sunday. The latter have been remanded in police custody till February 25.
Aditya Gayaki (19), Siddharth Yenpure (20), Samarth Pomaji (18) Swapnil Sakat (23) and Asaram Fasale were produced before special judge Mahesh Jadhav at the end of their previous remand.
Their custody was needed for a joint interrogation and for tracing the money trail as well as the vehicle used in the crime, the police told the court.
Defence lawyer advocate Ajinkya Mirgal opposed the plea, saying that the probe agency had had enough time to question them.
Physical custody of the accused was not required for finding out the money trail as the police had already seized their mobile phones, he added.
The court, after hearing the arguments, extended the custody of the five accused till February 23.
At least five rounds were fired at the first floor of Shetty's nine-storey building in Juhu area at 12.45 am on February 1. A bullet struck the glass of a gym inside the building.
Alleged shooter Deepak Sharma was among those arrested on Sunday. According to the police, the firing was carried out at the instructions of Shubham Lonkar, a member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, with the intention of causing harm to the filmmaker and instill fear. Lonkar is among the wanted accused in the case.
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Siddaramaiah seeks Centre's urgent intervention over commercial LPG cylinder shortage
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday sought the Centre's urgent intervention to ensure supply of adequate commercial LPG cyclinders to hotels and restaurants in Bengaluru.
He said hotels, restaurants and catering establishments in the city would be forced to suspend operations if supplies are not restored, affecting a large number of students and working professionals who depend on them for regular meals.
In his letter to Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri, he also requested him to issue appropriate directions to the oil marketing companies to address the current supply constraints that would help ease the situation.
Referring to the March 9 order issued by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas prioritising LPG supply for domestic consumers, Siddaramaiah said while the intention behind the order to ensure uninterrupted LPG supply to households across the country is well understood and appreciated, its implementation appears to have led to an unintended shortage of commercial LPG in Bengaluru.
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He cited that several hotels and restaurant associations in the city have reported that they are unable to procure commercial LPG cylinders, and many establishments are expressing concern that they may have to temporarily shut operations if supplies are not restored soon.
Bengaluru has a large ecosystem of small restaurants, mess facilities, and catering units that serve lakhs of people every day.
According to him, as per the discussions held with the oil marketing companies, the state's commercial LPG demand has traditionally been supported by supplies from the three OMCs-IOCL (around 500-550 MT per day), HPCL (around 300 MT per day) and BPCL (around 230 MT per day) and the sudden disruption of this supply is now severely affecting hotels, catering establishments and other commercial users in Bengaluru.
Any disruption to their functioning will have a direct impact on daily life in the city, he said.
"This issue also affects a large number of students and working professionals who live away from their homes and depend on hotels and mess facilities for regular meals. In addition, Choultries (wedding halls), hostels, and event venues that rely on commercial LPG for food preparation are also facing uncertainty, particularly with scheduled social and community events," the chief minister said in the letter.
Given the scale of dependence on commercial LPG in a metropolitan city like Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah sought the union minister's intervention to ensure that adequate commercial LPG supply is made available to hotels, restaurants, choultries, community halls and any other pure commercial establishments.
"Appropriate directions to the oil marketing companies to address the current supply constraints would help ease the situation. A timely resolution will help ensure that businesses continue to operate smoothly while also avoiding inconvenience to thousands of people who rely on these services on a daily basis," he added.
