The Mumbai Police, in collaboration with their Madhya Pradesh police officials, are intensifying the search for a suspected shooter in the murder of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique.
Baba Siddique, 66, was shot dead on Saturday night near his son Zeeshan Siddique’s office in Bandra, Mumbai.
Police have arrested three individuals so far: Gurmail Baljit Singh (23) from Haryana, Dharmaraj Rajesh Kashyap (19) from Uttar Pradesh, and co-conspirator Pravin Lonkar from Pune.
The suspect, Shivkumar Gautam, is still on the run, with police tracking him in Ujjain and Khandwa, known for the Mahakal and Omkareshwar temples.
After Baba Siddique’s murder, police officials are exploring multiple angles, including a possible connection to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, contract killing, and political or business rivalries. Officials suspect the killing may also be linked to a slum rehabilitation project in Mumbai.
Mumbai Police have formed 15 teams, which have fanned out across various states in pursuit of additional suspects and to uncover the full extent of the conspiracy.
Suspect flaunted ‘Gangster’ status on social media before Baba Siddique’s Murder
Uttar Pradesh native Shiv Kumar Gautam, an absconding suspect in politician Baba Siddique’s killing in Mumbai, had taken to posting online content in recent months, flaunting his “gangster” status.
“Yaar tera gangster hai jaani (your friend is a gangster)” Gautam had captioned his photo post on his Instagram account on July 24. The photo showed him on a motorcycle as a Haryanvi song played in the background.
Another post of his on July 8 was captioned “Sharif baap hai # (expletives) hum nahin”. On May 26, he posted a brief video of a city skyline along with background music from “KGF”, a film about a mercenary, with its dialogue “powerful people make places powerful”.
Interestingly, Gautam’s Instagram followers nearly doubled overnight after Baba Siddique’s murder, rising from 299 on Sunday to 504 on Monday.
His mother, Suman, had expressed shock and disbelief over the police’s claim that Gautam was among those involved in the incident.
Only one constable with Baba Siddique at time of murder: Police
Despite being accompanied by only one police constable, two of the assailants were apprehended shortly after the incident.
Six rounds were fired on Siddique, two of which hit the 66-year-old former Maharashtra minister on the chest, outside his MLA son Zeeshan Siddique’s office in Nirmal Nagar between 9:15 pm and 9:30 pm on Saturday.
Non-categorised security, under which Baba Siddique was given three constables, is provided as per the individual’s threat perception.
Two constables on security duty were relieved in the evening and only one personnel was with Siddique when he was leaving for Bandra West from his son’s office on the night of his murder.
When the assailants opened fire, several persons in the congested area thought it was the sounds of firecrackers going off as part of Dussehra and Goddess Durga idol immersion processions, as per police.
(With inputs of PTI)
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