Nagpur: More than six years after gunmen opened fire on the SUV of former Nagpur Mayor Sandip Joshi, the sensational attack remains an unsolved mystery, with neither the identity of the shooters nor the motive conclusively established.

The shooting, which took place when Nagpur was hosting the Winter Session of the Maharashtra Legislature, had triggered serious concerns over the security of political leaders and the law-and-order situation in the city. Despite a prolonged investigation involving the Crime Branch and later the State CID, the case has so far failed to produce an identified accused or an arrest.

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Three bullets, seconds of terror

The attack took place on the night of December 17, 2019, when Joshi was returning home after attending his 24th wedding anniversary celebration at a dhaba on the Outer Ring Road near Wardha Road.

Joshi was driving his SUV with his friend Aditya Thakur seated beside him. As the vehicle was proceeding towards the city, two helmeted men riding a motorcycle allegedly came close to the SUV and opened fire.

Investigators found that three 7.65-mm bullets had been fired at the vehicle from close range. One bullet hit the driver’s window, another pierced a rear passenger window, while the third struck the rear windshield.

The trajectory of the firing suggested that the attackers had deliberately targeted the vehicle rather than firing indiscriminately. Yet, in a striking stroke of luck, neither Joshi nor Thakur was injured.

Threat letters had preceded shooting

The attack assumed greater significance because Joshi had allegedly received two anonymous threat letters shortly before the incident.

The letters reportedly warned him against an anti-encroachment drive being undertaken in the city. Joshi subsequently linked the attack to his campaign against illegal encroachments, alleging that the drive had disrupted an organised system of extortion.

The sequence raised a crucial investigative question: Were the threat letters and the shooting part of the same conspiracy?

Despite examining the possible connection, investigators have not publicly established the identity of the persons behind either the threats or the attack.

From Crime Branch to CID

A case was initially registered under Section 307 of the Indian Penal Code, relating to attempt to murder, along with provisions of the Arms Act.

The Nagpur Crime Branch took up the investigation, examining available evidence and pursuing various leads. The probe was subsequently transferred to the State CID, which recorded statements and examined CCTV footage and call-detail records in an attempt to reconstruct the movements of the attackers and identify possible conspirators.

However, the investigation did not culminate in an arrest.

The absence of a breakthrough is particularly significant given the nature of the attack. The assailants allegedly used a motorcycle, wore helmets and fired at a moving vehicle before escaping, leaving investigators with limited visual identification evidence.

The unanswered questions

More than six years later, several questions continue to hang over the case:

Who ordered the attack?

If the shooting was linked to Joshi’s anti-encroachment campaign, who stood to lose financially from the drive?

Who were the shooters?

Despite CCTV examination and scrutiny of call records, the identities of the two motorcycle-borne attackers remain unknown.

Who sent the threat letters?

The letters received before the shooting could provide a crucial link to the motive, but the persons behind them have not been identified.

Was the attack intended as a warning or an attempt to kill?

Three bullets were allegedly fired at close range, including shots that struck the driver’s and rear windows. The fact that Joshi escaped unharmed appears to have been a matter of chance.

Why did the trail go cold?

The case involved ballistic evidence, CCTV footage, call records and witness statements, yet no accused has been brought before the court.

A case still without closure

Joshi had maintained that his aggressive action against encroachments was aimed at dismantling what he described as a system of daily extortion. The possibility that the shooting was connected to those actions therefore became an important line of inquiry.

Yet, despite the passage of years and a change in the investigating agency, the case remains without a definitive answer.

For investigators, the challenge now is not merely to identify the two men who allegedly pulled the trigger, but to establish who planned the attack, who financed or facilitated it, and whether the earlier threats were part of the same plot.

Until those questions are answered, the December 2019 shooting will remain one of Nagpur’s most high-profile unresolved attacks on a political figure.