Rakesh Roshan was shot outside his Santa Cruz office in Mumbai in January 2000. He had been hit by 2 bullets.
Thane, Maharashtra:
A notorious criminal and sniper, who was involved in the attack on Bollywood director Rakesh Roshan in 2000, was arrested in Maharashtra’s Thane nearly three months after he was released from parole, a senior official said today.
The defendant, Sunil V Gaikwad, 52, was arrested in the Parsik Circle area of Kalwa around 9 p.m. Friday, he said.
“We received a notice that Gaikwad is coming to the Parsik Circle area. Consequently, we set a trap and caught him,” said Central Crime Unit Chief Inspector Anil Honrao.
“The defendant has 11 murder cases and seven attempted murder cases registered against him. One of them includes the attempt on the life of Bollywood director Rakesh Roshan in 2000,” he said.
Rakesh Roshan was shot outside his Santa Cruz office in the western suburbs of Mumbai in January 2000. The assailants had fired six rounds, two of which had hit Roshan, police said.
“Gaikwad had been sentenced to life imprisonment in a murder case and was booked into Nashik Central Jail. However, he was released on 28-day probation on June 26 this year,” the official said.
“He was expected to return to jail after completing his probation period. However, he did not. He was in hiding until his arrest last night,” Honrao added.
According to the official, the offender was active during 1999 and 2000 and was involved in various crimes. He was associated with the notorious Ali Budesh and Subhash Singh Thakur gangs.
During the same period, he was also involved in a dacoity in Nashik, where he had opened fire on police personnel, he said.
“Gaikwad would be turned over to the Pant Nagar police, where a flight crime was recorded,” Honrao said.
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