Firing at medical shop: Five arrested, main accused at large

Five people associated with the Uday Pathak gang have been arrested in connection with the firing outside a medical shop in Kurar area of suburban Malad, a police official said on Wednesday.

The main accused, who opened fire outside Anand Medical Store in Bheem market area of Kurar village on Saturday, was yet to be nabbed, he said, without identifying the attacker.

"We have arrested five people late Tuesday night in connection with the firing," senior police inspector Babasaheb Salunkhe said.

The accused have been identified as Nikhil Chandrakant Rokade (30), Sooraj Bapu Sagre (28), Vikas Jaiprakash Pandey alias Pillu (23), Jeetu Prakash Garosia alias Chitlya (30) and Pravin Prakash Bawiskar alias Perry (22).

During the probe, the police came to know that the main accused practised firing at a forest and also did a recce of the place before the incident, the official said.

After the firing, the accused left a note at the spot in which he demanded Rs five crore from the owner of Anand Medical Store and Rs one crore from Rokadiya Traders located nearby, he said.

The accused used a country-made pistol for firing. He and those arrested are associated with the gang of Uday Pathak, who is currently lodged at the Arthur Road jail here in the case of killing of four youths at Kurar in 2011, the official said.

"After the firing incident on Saturday, we enquired with some youths in vicinity who recently met Pathak in jail. We came to know someone practised firing in a forest area nearby," he said.

Acting on a tip-off, the police first nabbed Rokade and on the basis of information provided by him, four others were arrested, he said.

The accused have been booked under Indian Penal Code Sections 307 (attempt to murder), 387 (extortion), 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and provisions of the Arms Act and the Bombay Police Act, the official added.