The Mumbai Police have arrested another accused from Haryana’s Sonipat district in connection with the firing incident targeting Bollywood actor Tiger Shroff’s car, taking the total number of arrests in the case to 12, including nine people from Sonipat.

The latest accused, identified as Amar, was arrested from Rohna village in Sonipat. The arrest has further strengthened the Sonipat connection in the case, with investigators examining financial transactions and links between the accused.

According to the investigation, Amar is a friend and neighbour of Kunal, who was arrested earlier in the case. Police investigations have revealed that Kunal allegedly transferred Rs 40,000 to Amar’s bank account.

Amar subsequently transferred Rs 12,000 to Radha’s bank account, another accused arrested earlier, allegedly on Kunal’s instructions.

The Mumbai Police are now investigating these financial transactions to establish the purpose of the transfers and determine the connections between the accused. The money trail is being examined as part of the wider investigation into the firing incident.

Amar, who studied up to Class 10, works at a supplements shop. His parents reportedly earn their livelihood through daily-wage labour.

Following his arrest, the Mumbai Police produced Amar before a court and are preparing to take him to Mumbai on transit remand for further investigation.

Meanwhile, Amar’s family has claimed that he is innocent and alleged that he has been falsely implicated in the case.

With nine of the 12 arrested accused reportedly belonging to Sonipat, the district has emerged as a key focus of the Mumbai Police investigation.

The police are examining the financial dealings and personal connections among the accused to establish the sequence of events and identify the roles played by individual suspects.

Meanwhile, encrypted messaging platforms Signal and Zangi were allegedly used by the accused to communicate. Police officials are facing significant challenges in decoding these digital exchanges, as tracing conversations conducted over the past eight months is considered crucial to uncovering the alleged conspiracy.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray on Thursday alleged that Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde is desperate to safeguard former Thane Mayor Meenakshi Shinde from the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Pradeep Purnekar murder case.

The Sena (UBT) leaders alleged that the police have merely arrested the contract killers and that until Meenakshi and Rajendra Shinde are arrested, the true conspiracy will never come out.

“We demand that the main accused and conspirator should be arrested at the earliest. We have no idea why she is being protected…when we met the police commissioner, we sensed that the policemen are convinced about who the main accused is,” said Thackeray, addressing a press conference in Thane.

Thackeray, along with Purnekar’s son Ram, Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut and Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders from Thane, held a press conference after holding a meeting with the Thane police commissioner.

Earlier, Thackeray visited the house of Purnekar to meet the wife of the dead leader.

Thackeray said that despite giving the evidence of CCTV footage, arrests have not been made.

“What and why are you waiting for?” Thackeray asked. “This is a political murder of which CCTV footage is available. Why are the main conspirator and masterminds not being arrested? Why is Eknath Shinde so desperate to safeguard the accused and conspirator?” he asked.

Thackeray criticised deputy CM and Thane’s guardian minister Eknath Shinde for detaining Ram Purnekar, who had gone to meet the latter demanding action in his father’s murder.

“We had come to Thane only to meet the Purnekar family and the police commissioner. But the local MP used abusive language and made a childish attempt to threaten us. Instead of facing us, they (Shinde-led Sena leaders) protested somewhere else and did not face us,” said Thackeray.

He also slammed Chief Minister and Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis for failing to deliver justice to the Purnekar family.

“The Home Minister is busy breaking parties, cutting trees and selling Sahyadri mountain ranges instead of stopping all these things,” he said.

Targeting CM Fadnavis, Shiv Sena UBT MP Sanjay Raut said that Maharashtra never had such a weak home minister.

“I want to tell those who challenged us to come to Thane that we not only came here, but we are ready to wait till we face you. Don’t boast because you are in power. It is not permanent. Meenakshi and Rajendra Shinde are the main accused in this case, and people are coming out of the streets to safeguard killers,” he said, adding that police will have to arrest both of them.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday carried out searches at multiple locations in Pune in connection with an alleged bank fraud case involving M/s Aaj Ka Anand Papers Pvt Ltd, an official statement said.

The agency recently registered a case against the company, its directors and unknown public servants based on a complaint filed by the State Bank of India (SBI), Mumbai.

The complaint alleges criminal conspiracy, cheating, criminal breach of trust, and manipulation of accounts, resulting in a wrongful loss of Rs 81.66 crore to the bank.

According to the CBI, the accused allegedly suppressed and misappropriated business revenues, altered and falsified books of accounts and electronic records, and diverted funds in violation of lending conditions.

Investigators suspect that substantial amounts were routed through current accounts maintained outside the designated banking channels without obtaining the consent of consortium lenders.

The agency said the alleged diversion of funds and unauthorised transactions amounted to cheating, criminal breach of trust, misappropriation and criminal conspiracy, causing significant financial loss to SBI.

As part of the ongoing probe, CBI teams searched several premises linked to the company and its directors. The searches covered both office establishments and residential properties associated with the accused persons.

During the operation, investigators recovered documents and digital evidence that are believed to be relevant to the case. The seized material is being examined to ascertain the full extent of the alleged fraud, including the suspected diversion and misappropriation of funds, as well as the involvement of other individuals who may have played a role in the conspiracy.

The CBI said the evidence collected during the searches would help investigators trace the flow of funds and determine whether there were any violations of banking norms and sanction conditions imposed by the lending institutions.

Further investigation in the case is underway, the agency added.