Mumbai, March 30: Five persons, owing allegiance to the Bahrain-based Ali Buddesh gang, have been arrested in connection with the January 21 attempt on the life of actor-director Rakesh Roshan at Santacruz in suburban Mumbai.Speaking to reporters here today, Additional Commissioner of Police Subhash Awte said the five identified as Sachin Khambe (20), Anant Jadhav (30), Abdul Mamuni (26), Uttam More (26) and Sunil Gaikwad (33) were arrested from Wadala and Kalina areas of the metropolis in the past week.The breakthrough in the case came with the interrogation of Sunil Gaikwad, who was arrested in another case, leading to the arrest of Uttam More, one of the key shooters in the case. The other shooter in the case was Sachin.The five were promised a joint payment of Rs five lakh in addition to one flat each, Awte said.Explaining the motive behind the shooting, he said it could either be professional rivalry or a case of extortion. ``We are looking into both the angles. However, one thing is clear that the gang wanted to intimidate the actor-producer''.Police also recovered a .45 calibre USA-made revolver, a.38 calibre Smith and Wesson revolver two country made hand guns and 17 live cartridges from the five.The gang was also involved in the murder of Jagdish Dhakan at Dahisar on April 16, 1999 and the murder of Ziauddin Shaikh at Vikhroli on the third week of March, 2000, Awte said.The arrest of the gangsters had also led to the detection of a dacoity case at Nashik where the gang had robbed over Rs two lakh jewellery from Thakur Jewellers at Nasik Road, he said.According to Awte, two members of the gang had also tried to assualt two constables, who tried to arrest them after the dacoity case. They had also abducted a businessman at Bangalore for 10 days for a ransom amount in February.The gang was also responsible for the death of a boy at Wadala in 1990 and the murder of one Nanwa at Ghatkopar in 1989, he said, adding it was also involved in various cases of extortion, theft and robbery.Roshan and his driver sustained bullet injuries after some gangsters shot at them while the director was leaving his office in a car at Santacruz in North-West mumbai.
