Mumbai: The arrest of Pranjal Thakran, the 11th accused in the firing at actor Tiger Shroff, has brought the alleged communication chain between US-based gangster Anil Pandit and the local network under Mumbai Crime Branch’s scrutiny. Pandit is suspected of masterminding the firing and is allegedly associated with the Lawrence Bishnoi gang.The Anti-Extortion Cell team on Sunday produced Pranjal Thakran, an engineering student from Madhya Pradesh, before an Esplanade court. The court remanded him to police custody until Oct 31.Investigating officer Sunil Pawar told the court that Thakran was allegedly in direct contact with Pandit and had acted as a mediator between him and arrested gangster Kunal.Police are also examining how instructions reached the three alleged shooters after their plan to travel from Surat to Delhi and escape into Nepal failed. According to police, Pandit activated an alternative plan and sent fresh instructions through VoIP calls routed via another arrested accused.While seeking Thakran’s custody, police informed the court that accused Rehan Ansari had earlier opened fire at a businessman in Haryana’s Panipat. Kunal was also arrested in the same case last year. Immediately after coming out of jail on bail, Rehan accepted the contract to carry out the firing targeting Shroff, police claimed.Police are now probing Thakran’s alleged role in coordinating with the gangsters and facilitating communication between those involved in the conspiracy.Meanwhile, the investigation has revealed that the three main accused involved in the firing had initially planned to escape to Nepal after carrying out the attack.According to police, Bihar resident Hritik Kumar alias Roshan (22), Rehan (18) and Phool Singh (18), both from Haryana, had planned to travel from Surat to Delhi by bus before crossing the international border into Nepal. However, their escape plan failed after they reached the bus stand and learnt that the bus had already departed.Pandit then allegedly activated an alternative escape plan and issued fresh instructions to the shooters through Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) calls routed via another arrested accused, Ankit Khatak.Police suspect that Pandit was coordinating the movement of the shooters remotely and providing instructions to help them evade arrest.Crime Branch is now attempting to establish the chain of communication, the source of the weapons and the financial arrangements behind the attack. Investigators are also examining digital evidence and the alleged links between the arrested accused and the overseas handlers to determine the extent of the conspiracy.
