ALL the eleven accused apprehended in the actor Tiger Shroff firing case were on Wednesday re-arrested by the Mumbai police under provisions of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), a day after the stringent law was invoked against them. They were produced before a Mumbai special court assigned to hear MCOCA cases where the police sought to re-arrest them under provisions of the 1999 Act, which makes it much tougher for the accused to get bail. The court allowed the police plea. The accused would now be produced before the court for police remand on Thursday. The police on Tuesday invoked the stringent MCOCA provisions against the 11 people arrested so far in the October 18 firing on actor Shroff’s car in Mumbai’s Juhu area. Two shooters fired five rounds at Shroff’s car as he was leaving a football ground. While the 36- year-old ‘Baaghi’ actor escaped largely unhurt, his car driver and a bystander, who is a vlogger, were injured.

 

Members of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang claimed responsibility for the firing. Police have named jailed gangster Bishnoi’s aide Anil Pandit as a wanted accused in the case. Of the 11 arrested accused, three were held in Kota, Rajasthan, and the rest from different places in Delhi and Haryana. All are currently in police custody. Under the MCOCA, a court can grant bail only if it is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to believe the accused is not guilty. Police get up to 180 days, instead of 90 days under ordinary criminal law, to file a chargesheet under the Act, and they can also seek longer custody of the accused. As per the MCOCA, confessions recorded before an officer of DCP rank are admissible as evidence in court. Under ordinary criminal law, only confessions recorded before a magistrate’s court is admissible as evidence.