Mumbai:
Baba Siddique, 66, a former three-time MLA from Bandra West and member of the Ajit Pawar faction of the National Congress Party (NCP), was shot dead last night outside his son Zeeshan’s office in Bandra East, Mumbai. Three men carried out the shooting during Dussehra festivities. The two suspects arrested in the killing of Mr Siddique have claimed they belong to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, said sources. However, the gang is yet to take responsibility for the murder, which was carried out despite the minister having the ‘Y’ security.
Here’s how Baba Siddique’s murder was carried out:
- The three accused received weapons a few days before the planned shooting through a human courier, according to the sources. The three shooters have been living in a rented house in Kurla for the past two months, for Rs 14,000 per month.
- Reportedly, the shooters were paid Rs 3 lakh in advance, to execute the murder. The money was to be divided between four people who took the contract for the murder.
- During their interrogation by the Mumbai Police Crime Branch, which lasted for seven hours, the two arrested suspects claimed they had been conducting a recce of the shooting spot in Bandra East for nearly a month, said sources. They also recced Mr Siddique’s home and office much in advance.
- The three accused arrived at the shooting spot in an auto rickshaw and waited for a while before the shooting took place, added the sources in the crime branch. Police believe someone else was providing them with information about Mr Siddique’s location.
- At least six bullets were fired at Mr Siddique of which four hit him in the chest. The police suspect it to be a contract killing. Two men – Gurmail Baljit Singh, 23, from Haryana and Dharamraj Rajesh Kashyap, 19, from Uttar Pradesh – were arrested while the third remains on the run. Mumbai police have sought the help of Haryana and UP police for details on the two arrested accused.
Also Read: Maharashtra Ex-Minister Baba Siddique Shot Dead Near Son’s Office In Mumbai
The crime branch is still looking for answers as to why the shooters chose Dussehra to carry out the crime.
Mr Siddique was rushed to the Lilavati Hospital’s emergency medical services at 9.30 pm in an unresponsive condition with no pulse, no cardiac activity, and no blood pressure, officials from the medical facility told news agency PTI.
He had lost a lot of blood. He was shifted to the ICU in an attempt to save him but was declared dead at 11.27 pm. This morning, around 6 am, his body was shifted to Cooper Hospital for postmortem.
Rohit Godara, a close aide of Bishnoi, had earlier claimed that anyone who was a friend of Salman Khan was an enemy of the Bishnoi gang. Mr Siddique was close to Bollywood’s bhai Salman Khan.
