A man, who claimed an unidentified person fired in the air in Dharavi area of Mumbai on Monday morning, turned out to be the main accused who was arrested within six hours of the incident along with his accomplice, police said.

The motive of the prime accused was to strike fear among residents and project himself as a big shot in local crime, as per the preliminary investigation.

The main accused, identified as Shahnawaz Aslam Sheikh, 27, initially tried to mislead the police by claiming that someone had fired in Madina Compound at around 5 AM but the CCTV footage gave him away, an official said.

Sheikh used a country-made pistol to fire in the air, he said, adding that no one was injured as the bullet hit a grilled shutter.

The other accused who accompanied Sheikh has been identified as Alam Mubarak Ali (24).

The investigation revealed that Sheikh informed the police control room about the firing by 'unidentified' persons and narrated the incident to police personnel when they visited the spot, the official added.

"The scanning of CCTV footage of the area showed Sheikh and Ali at the spot at the time of the incident. They admitted to committing the crime during interrogation," he said.

Multiple teams of police and crime branch officials were formed after the incident was reported in the sensitive area.

A case was registered against Sheikh and Ali under relevant sections of the Bhartiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) and further investigation is underway, the official added.

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