Highlights:
- Gunfire erupted outside Rohit Shetty’s Juhu home early Sunday
- Director was inside the building but escaped unharmed
- CCTV footage captured the shooter firing multiple rounds
- Security guard told police the attack appeared targeted
- Police link planning to gangster Shubham Lonkar
Four gunshots were fired outside the Juhu residence of director-producer Rohit Shetty in the early hours of Sunday, February 1, 2026. Shetty was inside his home at the time of the incident but was not injured. The firing occurred at approximately 12:45 a.m. at Shetty Towers, the building where the filmmaker lives.
According to the complaint filed by the security guard on duty, the incident took place while he was seated near the CCTV monitoring screens in the lobby of the building. Another bodyguard, Waheed Malik, was also present in the lobby, while police bodyguard Ashish Rane was on the sixth floor having his meal. Rohit Shetty was resting on the seventh floor when the shots were fired.
The complainant told police that he initially heard sounds resembling firecrackers. He immediately checked the CCTV monitors and saw an unidentified individual wearing a black jacket and white trousers standing near the compound wall of Shetty Towers, close to Road Number 10.
The footage showed the suspect firing what appeared to be a pistol-like firearm toward the building. According to the complainant, the individual fired a total of five rounds. Moments later, Waheed Malik and another security guard stationed at the gate, Satyam Pathak, rushed outside and saw the suspect fleeing toward the Pushpa Park area.
The security guard informed police constable Ashish Rane by phone, after which Rane rushed to the gate and alerted local police. Officers from Juhu Police Station soon arrived at the scene, were briefed on the incident, and later accompanied the complainant to the police station to formally record his statement.
In his complaint, the guard stated that he firmly believed the shots were fired with the intention of killing Rohit Shetty. He told police that the unidentified assailant deliberately aimed toward Shetty’s residence from outside the compound wall, constituting an attempt to murder.
The complainant further stated that his statement, which was typed in Marathi, was read out to him and accurately reflected his account of the incident.
Mumbai Police sources said investigators traced the vehicle used by the attacker—a Honda Dio scooter—to a resident of Pune. The owner had reportedly sold the scooter a few days earlier to one of the arrested accused, Aditya Gayki, for ₹30,000, taking his signature on a blank paper at the time of the transaction.
Police said Gayki and another arrested accused, Samarth Pomaji, later abandoned the scooter at a pre-decided location in the Juhu area.
According to police sources, instructions regarding the purchase of the scooter and where it was to be left in Mumbai were allegedly given by gangster Shubham Lonkar. Investigators believe that those involved in acquiring and transporting the vehicle were not aware of the shooter’s identity.
Police said Lonkar later directed the shooter to collect the scooter from the drop-off point and carry out the firing. A similar method has reportedly been used in previous crimes, with multiple small groups assigned separate tasks to prevent any single group from having full knowledge of the operation.
The investigation remains ongoing as police continue to identify all individuals involved and determine the motive behind the attack.
