 "Baba Siddique murder: How the killing was planned in Patiala jail and executed in Mumbai")
Crowds in hundreds and hundreds converged in Mumbai to bid adieu to former Maharashtra minister and Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar camp) Baba Siddique after he was shot dead on Saturday night prima facie by three persons.
Senior police officers, politicians cutting across the party lines, Bollywood stars and common people were present at the last rites of the 66-year-old former MLA, which were held at the Bada Kabrastan in Mumbai’s south Mumbai area of Marine Lines.
Meanwhile, the Mumbai Police is carrying out an extensive investigation, exploring multiple angles and trying to ascertain how the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, who has claimed responsibility for Siddique’s murder, carried out this daring attack on Saturday night outside his son’s office in Mumbai’s Bandra.
As cops carry out their probe, here’s what we have found out about the shooting and how the gang leader, Lawrence Bishnoi — currently in jail — perpetrated the crime from behind bars.
Who was Baba Siddique?
Baba Siddique is a well-known face in Maharashtra’s politics. Originally, a Congressman, he defected to Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in February, just months before the Maharashtra Assembly elections.
The 66-year-old served as Maharashtra Cabinet minister and was an MLA for three straight terms — 1999, 2004 and 2009. His son Zeeshan Siddique is currently the Congress MLA from Mumbai.
Siddique was often seen hobnobbing with Bollywood celebrities, including Salman Khan , Sanjay Dutt and Shah Rukh Khan. His iftar parties during Eid were legendary.
When he quit Congress this February, he provided no reason, except for saying “some things are better left unsaid”. In his years as a politician, Baba Siddique was known as one who served the people and received high praise for supplying life-saving medicines to patients during the COVID pandemic.
How was Siddique’s assassination planned?
On Saturday night, amid Dussehra celebrations, as Baba Siddique was leaving his son’s office in Mumbai’s Bandra area, three shooters opened fire on the politician at 9.30 pm. Sustaining two gunshot wounds to his chest, the NCP leader was rushed to Lilavati Hospital for emergency treatment.
Doctors at the renowned hospital later in a statement said: “Baba Siddique was brought to Lilavati Hospital & Research Centre, Emergency Medical Services at 9.30 pm on Saturday in an unresponsive condition with no pulse, no blood pressure recording, no cardiac activity, with a history of gunshot wounds to the chest.”
Despite their many efforts, Siddique could not be revived and was declared dead at 11.27 pm.
But how did the shooting unfold? Police, who are investigating the crime, reconstructed the crime scene and found that the shooters had taken cover of the Dussehra celebrations to carry out their attack.
They, according to the cops, hid themselves close to Siddique’s car and as he was climbing into it, the shooters released some kind of device that engulfed the area with thick smoke. Under the guise of the smoke, the shooters then unloaded six rounds of bullets at the politician. His aides, present at the time with him, also sustained injuries.
The shooting, as per the Mumbai Police, was a result of months-long planning. Earlier, the accused had even recced outside Siddique’s house and office for one-and-a-half to two months and were keeping an eye on him.
The Mumbai Police say that once the men decided how they would attack Siddique, they received the arms, with News18 reporting that the guns were sent to the shooters via a prepaid courier service. Moreover, they were paid Rs 50,000 to carry out the shooting.
Further investigations reveal that the plan to kill Siddique was initially hatched in a Patiala jail. According to the police, in 2022, a 21-year-old man known as Mohammed Zeeshan Akhtar was arrested by the rural police in Jalandhar on charges of organised crime, murder and robbery. He was sent to Patiala jail where he came in contact with members of the Lawrence Bishnoi , who then handed him the contract of killing Baba Siddique.
On his release from jail in June, he reached out to Gurmail Singh, Dharmaraj Kashyap and Shiv Kumar and gave them directions on the killing of Siddique. And it was based on this that the three carried out the murder of the Siddique.
The Mumbai Police also pointed out that the accused had carried pepper spray and were planning on using it on Siddique before shooting at him.
Who are the shooters arrested?
While Zeeshan is still on the run, immediately after the shooting, the Mumbai Police arrested two of the shooters — Gurmail Baljit Singh, 23, from Haryana and Dharmaraj Rajesh Kashyap, 19, from Uttar Pradesh.
Later, the cops also arrested 28-year-old Pravin Lonkar from Pune, who is believed to be a ‘co-conspirator’ in the crime. The authorities say that they are on the hunt for his brother, Shubham Lonkar, who is also believed to be tied to the murder. It is reported that it was Pravin who had issued a warning to those who helped actor Salman Khan in a Facebook post, which has since gone viral.
Lonkar has been remanded into custody until October 21. Moreover, a bone ossification test was conducted on Kashyap, who had earlier claimed he was a minor. But, the test has now proved otherwise.
The police have also set up 15 teams which fanned out of Maharashtra and a probe is on to identify who provided logistical support to the shooters, officials said.
What comes next?
Siddique’s murder has not only shocked the people of Maharashtra but also kicked off a political row, with the Congress, Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiva Sena and Sharad Pawar’s NCP alleging that the law and order in the state had collapsed.
The Congress pointed fingers at Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, stating that the duo should take responsibility and resign. Congress’ Rahul Gandhi said on X, “The tragic demise of Baba Siddique ji is shocking and saddening. My thoughts are with his family in this difficult time. This horrifying incident exposes the complete collapse of law and order in Maharashtra. The government must take responsibility, and justice must prevail.”
Meanwhile, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said: “Justice must be ensured, and the present Maharashtra government must order a thorough and transparent investigation. The culprits must be brought to book at the earliest. Accountability is paramount.”
Sharad Pawar has also said that there’s a need to take responsibility for the incident and for the rulers to step down.
However, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said his party leader Siddique’s murder should not be politicised and asserted that the state government will not rest till the guilty are brought to book.
With inputs from agencies
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