Mumbai: Senior politician and former Maharashtra minister, Baba Siddique, tragically passed away on Saturday evening after being shot in the Bandra area of Mumbai. He was rushed to Lilavati Hospital, where he was pronounced dead upon arrival.
The attack, carried out by three unidentified assailants, took place near the office of Zeeshan Siddique, MLA for Vandre East. While the exact motive remains unclear, initial reports suggest that at least three individuals were involved in the shooting.
Baba Siddique, 65, was not only known for his political and social work but also had various business interests. He enjoyed close ties with prominent figures in Bollywood, including Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, and Aamir Khan, as well as the late actor-politician Sunil Dutt and his family.
The Nirmal Nagar police have registered an FIR, and the Crime Branch-CID has joined the investigation. Several suspects have been detained, though further details are yet to emerge.
Before the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, Siddique left the Congress and the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance to join Ajit Pawar’s faction of the NCP, which is now aligned with the ruling Maha Yuti coalition.
Siddique had a distinguished political career, having served as a two-term Corporator and three-time MLA for Vandre (1999, 2004, and 2009). He held several key positions, including Minister of State for Food & Civil Supplies, Labour, FDA, and Consumer Protection in the Congress-NCP Democratic Front government. He was also the chairman of the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA)’s Mumbai Board between 2000 and 2004.
Following the incident, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, along with Deputy Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis, who is also the Home Minister, and Ajit Pawar, reviewed the situation with senior officials. Security in the Bandra area has been tightened in response to the attack.
