The accused, Shahabad alias Shabbu Munna Qureshi, 28, a Mumbra resident with criminal cases registered in Delhi, fired at the house and car of influencer and small-time developer Nadeem Moinuddin Khan alias Baba Khan, 45, before later opening fire on police teams that tracked him down.

According to the Mumbra police, the attack took place around 4.54 am in Almas Colony, Kausa, when Qureshi fired three rounds- two at Khan’s sedan and one at his residence while the complainant was asleep.

Khan had drawn attention in 2024 after posting a video openly challenging Bishnoi following the murder of NCP leader Baba Siddique on October 12, 2024. Though the video was later deleted, it had already gone viral.

Police teams rushed to the area after the firing and began tracing the suspect. Assistant police inspector Tejas Sawant received a tip-off that the gunman was hiding inside a godown in nearby Achari Lane.

When officers surrounded the location and asked him to surrender, Qureshi allegedly opened fire on the police team, triggering a dramatic chase.

“He kept firing towards the police team waiting outside. API Sawant then pointed his service pistol at him, but the accused began running while firing randomly,” a police officer said.

During the gunfire, two locals were injured when stray bullets struck them, one grazing a man’s stomach and another hitting a person in the hand as residents gathered at the spot.

Police officers Sawant, Aziz Tadavi and Ajinkya Mahadik eventually overpowered the accused after a brief chase.

Investigators said Qureshi dropped one pistol but attempted to fire again using a second weapon loaded with three bullets, before officers managed to snatch it away.

By then, enraged residents allegedly assaulted the accused with bamboo sticks and an iron rod before police secured him.

Officials said Qureshi fired around 12 rounds during the encounter with the police. The officers recovered two pistols, four live cartridges and four magazines from him. One of his alleged accomplices is currently on the run.

The two injured locals were admitted to Kalsekar Hospital in Mumbra and are said to be out of danger.

Police said Khan had earlier sought security, claiming he had approached senior officers over threats but had not been provided protection. Security has now been deployed outside his residence.

Investigators are probing whether the modus operandi resembles the Bishnoi gang’s signature style of firing outside homes to issue threats, as seen in several recent high-profile cases.

On February 1, shots were fired outside Rohit Shetty’s residence in Juhu, where four to five rounds were allegedly fired outside Shetty Tower around 12.40 am. A bullet struck a gym window on the first floor, though no one was injured.

Police later linked that attack to the Bishnoi gang and arrested multiple suspects, invoking provisions of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).

Officials are now examining whether the Mumbra firing also has links to the Bishnoi network, particularly as Qureshi had spent eight years lodged in Tihar Jail in Delhi and frequently stayed in the capital.