Police nab main accused in Kurar firing case from Surat

A CCTV grab showing the shooter

On Thursday, the Kurar police arrested the absconding accused from Surat who allegedly fired at the two shops in Kurar last week. The police team had already arrested five accused in this case on Tuesday who were involved in the crime. The arrested accused have been identified as Santosh Sharma (25).

According to police officials, the accused had fled to Surat after the firing incident. Two police teams of Samtaagar police station were following the accused since and in the process raided several places in Vasai, Virar as well as in Surat. The police finally managed to nab the accused from Surat and brought him to Mumbai on Wednesday.

During the preliminary investigation, it was revealed that the mastermind behind the whole firing incident was accused Uday Pathak who is imprisoned in Arthur Road Jail. Pathak had specially called Sharma from Uttar Pradesh to kill his elder brother's killer Ahmad Hasan, who had come to Mumbai a couple of weeks ago after he was released on bail. He was staying at his brother's house in Kurar.

Uday Pathak's elder brother Jeetu was allegedly killed in his native village over some personal rivalry by Ahamd Hasan a couple of years back. Hasan was arrested in that case by the Uttar Pradesh police and imprisoned in jail. Recently, he was released on bail and came to Mumbai.

Seeking revenge for killing his brother, Uday called Sharma from UP to kill Hasan but four to five days before the firing incident Hasan was caught by the Kurar police in the attempt of preparation of dacoit case with a couple of other accused.

The Kurar police had recovered a country-made pistol from Hasan and send him to the jail, in this way, Uday's plan to kill Hasan failed, said a police officer from Kurar police station.

After Hasan's arrest, Sharma and the other accused were not sure as to where they would use the weapon, so they targeted the two shopkeepers (Anand medical and Rokadia traders) and made a plan for extortion by threatening and firing on their shops, the officer added further.

What happened in Kurar?

An unidentified man fired two rounds of bullets at a medical store and imitation jewellery shop in Kurar, Malad (East) around 1.30 pm on February 1. Three people were injured in the incident, and the accused allegedly left extortion letters demanding extortion of Rs 1 crore from both shops.

The firing took place at Anand medical store in Bheemnagar, Kurar, and Rokadiya traders' artificial jewellery shop in the Shivaji Nagar area. While the accused had managed to flee from the scene.

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