Sharpshooter involved in attack on Rakesh Roshan held after jumping parole

Mumbai: A notorious criminal and sharpshooter, who was allegedly involved in the attack on Bollywood director Rakesh Roshan in 2000, has been arrested in Thane city of Maharashtra nearly three months after he jumped parole, a senior official said on Saturday.

The accused, Sunil V Gaikwad (52), was nabbed from Parsik Circle area in Kalwa around 9 pm on Friday, he said.

“We had received a tip-off that Gaikwad is coming to Parsik Circle area. Accordingly, we laid a trap and caught him,” senior inspector of Central Crime Unit Anil Honrao said.

“The accused has 11 cases of murder and seven cases of attempt to murder registered against him. One of these includes attempt on Bollywood director Rakesh Roshan’s life in 2000,” he said.

Roshan was shot at outside his Santa Cruz office in the western suburbs of Mumbai in January 2000. The assailants had fired six rounds, of which two bullets had hit Roshan, police said.

“Gaikwad had been sentenced to life imprisonment in a murder case and was lodged at Nashik central jail. However, he came out on a 28-day parole on June 26 this year,” the official said.

“He was expected to return to the jail after completion of the parole period. However, he did not do so. He was hiding till his arrest last night,” Honrao added.

According to the official, the accused was active during 1999 and 2000 and was involved in several crimes. He was associated with the notorious gangs of Ali Budesh and Subhash Singh Thakur.

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 handed over to the Pant Nagar police, where an offence of escape has been registered,” Honrao said.