Anil Pandit, an alleged California-based key handler for the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, reportedly executed a remote-wipe command to delete digital evidence from the mobile phone of co-accused Kunal following his arrest, Mumbai police investigators revealed. The suspected intervention purged Kunal’s Telegram and Signal accounts along with associated cloud storage data. Officers suspect Pandit anticipated that the prior apprehension of two alleged couriers, Radha and Babita, would inevitably lead law enforcement to Kunal, prompting the cross-border digital scrub to conceal communication trails and operational directives tied to the recent shooting at actor Tiger Shroff’s car.
Forensic teams are now examining the seized mobile devices of Kunal and another arrested associate, Sumit, to determine whether deleted logs, cache records, or residual cloud footprints can still be retrieved. Investigators believe encrypted applications were heavily relied upon by the syndicate to direct ground operatives while shielding top overseas handlers from direct exposure.
Remote Wipe Triggered to Disrupt Digital Trail
According to investigation details, the remote wipe was deliberately initiated to break the evidentiary chain linking ground operatives to their foreign handler. Authorities believe Pandit managed logistical execution from the United States, transmitting time-sensitive instructions directly to Kunal’s encrypted apps. By purging account data and cloud backups immediately after Kunal was taken into custody, the syndicate sought to eliminate critical digital traces, including incoming contact numbers, message transcripts, and coordination records related to the shooting incident.
Police have forwarded the confiscated phones of both Kunal and Sumit to digital forensic laboratories for comprehensive extraction. Technicians are scrutinizing the internal storage, system partitions, and recoverable communication fragments to reconstruct the operational timeline. Through this technical review, officers aim to identify additional conspirators, verify message timestamps, and establish direct digital links between the California-based handler and the ground execution team.
Encrypted Dead-Drop Route Used for Firearms Delivery
Beyond digital communications, the inquiry has exposed a clandestine logistics mechanism used to supply firearms without face-to-face contact. On instructions allegedly delivered by Pandit over encrypted channels, Kunal and Sumit traveled by motorcycle to Amritsar to retrieve weapons from a predetermined dead-drop location. Kunal reportedly navigated to the deserted site using encrypted location coordinates, collected the cache, and left without encountering the suppliers, thereby preserving operational compartmentalization within the network.
Ballistic reviews indicate that an advanced, indigenous semiautomatic pistol capable of holding nine rounds in a magazine was retrieved during the ongoing crackdown. A weapon matching this specification was allegedly used during the October 18 attack on Tiger Shroff’s vehicle, where seven rounds were fired and five struck the car. A second firearm reportedly jammed during the incident. Forensic specialists are conducting comparative ballistic tests to confirm whether the seized firearms directly match the empty cartridges and bullet strikes logged at the crime scene.
Three Key Accused Remanded to Police Custody
A Mumbai court has remanded the three principal accused arrested in connection with the attack to police custody until October 31. With these recent detentions, the total number of individuals arrested in the case has climbed to 10. Custodial interrogations are focusing on the precise directives issued by Pandit, the financial transactions behind the dead-drop weapons handover, and the identities of local facilitators who assisted the shooters before and after the incident.
Detectives are also tracing the operational links binding the US-based handler, the courier network represented by Radha and Babita, and the armed operatives. While the remote deletion wiped visible chat logs, investigators are leveraging hardware-level extractions to uncover residual data. Police stated that all claims regarding Pandit and the arrested suspects remain subject to ongoing judicial proceedings, ballistic reports, and digital forensic analysis as the broader syndicate network is mapped.
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