The Lawrence Bishnoi gang has reportedly taken responsibility for the murder of former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique, who was shot dead outside his son Zeeshan Siddique’s office in Bandra East, Mumbai, on Saturday night.
The 66-year-old Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader was attacked around 9:30 pm, with multiple rounds fired at him, resulting in fatal injuries to his chest.
According to an Indian Express report, the Mumbai police have confirmed the involvement of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi in Siddique’s killing.
The police indicate that three shooters were involved in the assassination. Two of them, identified as Gurmail Baljit Singh, 23, from Haryana, and Dharamraj Kashyap, 19, from Uttar Pradesh, have been arrested. The third suspect, Shiv Kumar Gautam, also from Uttar Pradesh, remains at large.
Authorities are also searching for a fourth individual believed to be the handler of the shooters.
‘Attack premeditated’
The incident occurred during Dussehra festivities, and it has been confirmed that the attack was premeditated. The shooters had conducted reconnaissance of the area for weeks prior to the murder. They reportedly received their weapons shortly before the attack and were compensated with a significant sum to carry out the contract killing.
After the shooting, Siddique was rushed to Lilavati Hospital but was declared dead upon arrival. The police are investigating a social media post linked to the Bishnoi gang that claimed responsibility for the crime.
This post is reportedly associated with Shibu Lonkar, who may actually be Shubham Rameshwar Lonkar, an associate of the gang.
Central agencies are currently looking into these connections as part of their investigation into this high-profile murder case.
Firing at Salman Khan’s residence in April
Notably, some Bishnoi gang members had been held in connection with the firing outside Bollywood superstar Salman Khan’s residence in Mumbai in April this year.
Baba Siddique, a prominent Muslim leader from Mumbai, was also known to be close to several Bollywood stars, including Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan and Sanjay Dutt.
The Mumbai police have launched a probe into the killing of Siddique from different angles, including a possible contract killing, business rivalry or threat over a slum rehabilitation project, officials earlier said.
The murder is suspected to be a pre-planned act, a police official said.
In the morning, Siddique’s body was shifted from the Lilavati Hospital in Bandra to Cooper Hospital in Vile Parle for an autopsy.
After the postmortem, the body was taken to his home at Maqba Heights in Bandra where people will be allowed to pay their last respects to Siddique in the evening.
The mortal remains of the NCP leader would be buried at Bada Kabrastan in Marine Lines area after 8.30 pm on Sunday following Namaz-E-Isha, an official said.
Security outside his house has been beefed up, he added.
(With excerpts from PTI)
