Mumbai:

Police have arrested one more person in connection with the murder of NCP leader and former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique from Ludhiana, an official said on Friday, taking the number of those held in the case to 15.

The accused, Sujit Sushil Singh (32), was caught from the Punjab town by a Mumbai police team and was being brought to the metropolis, he said.

The 66-year-old NCP leader was shot dead by three gunmen on October 12 in Mumbai’s Bandra area.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Anmol Bishnoi, the brother of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, has been added to the most-wanted list of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), sources said.

The anti-terror agency has also announced a reward of Rs 10 lakh for the arrest of Anmol Bishnoi, who is wanted in connection with a shooting incident that occurred outside Bollywood actor Salman Khan’s Mumbai residence earlier this year.

Anmol, Lawrence Bishnoi – who is currently lodged in the Sabarmati central prison in Ahmedabad – and Canada-based gangster Goldie Brar were among the persons named as accused in the case related to the firing outside Mr Khan’s Bandra residence in Mumbai in April.

ALSO READ | Lawrence Bishnoi Has 700 Shooters On Call. How He Operates From Jail

The Navi Mumbai police had in this case arrested five Bishnoi gang members – Dhananjay alias Ajay Kashyap alias Nahvi, Gaurav Bhatia, Waspi Khan alias Wasim Chikna, Rizwan Khan alias Javed, and Deepak Hawa Singh alias John.

After the arrests, police in June also claimed to have uncovered a plot to target the actor on his way to his farmhouse near Panvel in Navi Mumbai.

The name of Anmol Bishnoi had also cropped up in the murder case of former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique. The 66-year-old NCP leader was shot dead by three persons in Mumbai, just outside his MLA son Zeeshan Siddique’s office, on October 12.

Anmol Bishnoi’s Speech To Shooters In Salman Khan House Firing

On the night of April 14, Mumbai’s Bandra neighbourhood was rocked by the sound of gunfire as two men on motorbikes fired multiple rounds outside Salman Khan’s residence.

A detailed chargesheet shed light on the events leading up to the attack on the actor’s house and revealed a long conversation between Anmol Bishnoi — who is reportedly operating from outside the country — and the shooters involved.

A 9-minute-long speech by Anmol Bishnoi was aimed at instilling courage in the shooters, Vicky Gupta and Sagar Pal, as they prepared to “script history” with their violent act.

ALSO READ | “Either Bullets Will Be Fired Or…”: Details In Salman Khan House Firing

According to the chargesheet, the plan was hatched over several months, from August 2023 to April 2024.

Investigations have revealed that the Bishnoi gang intended to acquire advanced firearms from Pakistan, including AK-47s, AK-92s, M16 rifles, and the Turkish-made Zigana pistol, the weapon used in the murder of Punjabi singer-politician Sidhu Moose Wala in May 2022.

According to the chargesheet, a network of approximately 60 to 70 individuals was involved in tracking Mr Khan’s every movement. This extensive surveillance covered his residence in Mumbai, his Panvel farmhouse, and even the Goregaon Film City, which he often visited for film shoots.

Mathura, Uttar Pradesh:

Mathura Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Shailesh Pandey has suspended three police personnel after a video statement of Yogesh, a sharpshooter of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang went viral. The sharpshooter was seen speaking to local media crews while being in police custody at the Refinery police station.

Shooter Yogesh had said that his encounter in Mathura was fake. He had given a statement on NCP leader Baba Siddiqui who was shot dead in Mumbai.

Sub-inspector Ramsanehi, head constable Vipin and constable Sanjay posted at Refinery police station have been suspended by SSP Pandey.

Yogesh, involved in a murder case in Delhi, was arrested by the Delhi Special Cell and Mathura Police in a joint action on Thursday.

Delhi police’s special cell in a joint operation with Mathura Police arrested Yogesh, a shooter of the Lawrence Bishnoi-Hashim Baba gang on Thursday in connection with the murder of a 35-year-old gym owner.

SSP Mathura Shailesh Pandey said, “In a joint operation between police and Delhi Special Cell team, a sharpshooter named Yogesh, who is said to have linkages with the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, has been injured in an encounter. He has been wanted in a murder case in Delhi.”

The gym owner, identified as Nadir Shah, was shot dead in full public view in South Delhi on September 12.

Meanwhile, security has been tightened at the residence of Bollywood actor Salman Khan after fresh death threats were received demanding an extortion payment of Rs 5 crore.

This comes after the Mumbai Police had said that a threatening message was received on the WhatsApp number of Mumbai Traffic Police, demanding Rs 5 crore from actor Salman Khan “to end his long-standing rivalry with Lawrence Bishnoi.”

The person who sent the message claimed to be close to Lawrence Bishnoi’s gang and claimed to put the actor’s life in danger if not provided with the extortion money.

The sender claimed, “Don’t take it lightly, if Salman Khan wants to stay alive and wants to end the enmity with Lawrence Bishnoi, then he will have to pay Rs 5 crore. If the money is not given, Salman Khan’s condition will be worse than Baba Siddique’s.”

The incident comes in the backdrop of the recent murder of Nationalist Congress Party leader Baba Siddique.

Following Siddique’s assassination, which occurred outside his office on October 12, the police have intensified their search for the suspects involved in his death.

A look-out circular was issued for Shubham Lonkar, along with two additional suspects, Shiv Kumar Gautam and Zeeshan Akhtar, who are believed to be trying to flee to Nepal.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Mumbai:

A photo of Zeeshan Siddique was found in the phone of one of the men who shot his father, Baba Siddique, last Saturday. The phone recovered from one of the accused arrested during the investigation of the murder case of the NCP leader had his photo, police sources said.

According to the sources, the photo was shared with the accused by their handler through Snapchat. The platform, investigators say, was used by the shooters and conspirators in the case to send messages to each other.

These messages were deleted on instruction from their handler, allegedly belonging to the gang of the notorious gangster Lawrence Bishnoi.

Read | Son’s Cryptic Post After Baba Siddique Murder

Siddique was shot by three men near his MLA son’s office in Nirmal Nagar in Mumbai’s Bandra area on October 12. The Congress-turned-NCP leader was rushed to nearby Lilavati Hospital where he was declared dead. The police have arrested nine people – including two of the three shooters – in the case so far. Five of them – Nitin Gautam Sapre (32), Sambhaji Kisan Pardhi (44), Pradeep Dattu Thombre (37), Chetan Dilip Pardhi and Ram Fulchand Kanoujia (43) -were arrested yesterday for allegedly providing firearms and logistical support to the shooters. Three accused are still on the run, police said.

Kanoujia, a resident of Panvel in Raigad, told police that the contract to kill Siddique was initially given to him and Sapre, sources said. He quoted a whopping amount of Rs 1 crore to take up the contract as, he said, he didn’t want to kill Siddique, the sources added. After Kanaujia and Sapre backed off, the task was given to Dharmraj Kashyap, Gurnail Singh and Shivkumar Gautam, the sources said. Kashyap and Singh were arrested on the day of the crime while Gautam managed to escape.

The accused told police that Shubham Lonkar – who was an alleged conspirator and the handler of the shooters in the case – chose Kashyap and Gautam for the job because he knew the people of Uttar Pradesh would not know about Baba Siddiqui’s stature in Maharashtra and that they would agree to commit the murder even for less money, according to the police sources.

Constable With Baba Siddique During Shooting Incident Suspended

When Baba Siddique was shot, he had only one police constable – a part of his security detail – accompanying him who did not retaliate when six rounds were fired at the senior politician. The security personnel has been suspended.

The constable told the investigators that he failed to react at the time of the incident as some “chilli-like substance” had entered his eyes, the sources said.

The three shooters and a co-conspirator had stationed themselves close to Mr Siddique’s waiting car, as per a reconstruction of the assassination. As the 66-year-old came out of the office and tried to get inside the car, the killers let off some device that covered the area in thick smoke. Many thought it was the smoke from the firecrackers, which also masked the noise of gunshots.

Baba Siddique had a ‘2+1’ security which means, two security guards during the day and one at night. When he went to Bandra East on October 12, he had two security guards with him. But before he left his son’s office, around 8:30 pm, one of the two security guards had left the location.

Lawrence Bishnoi Gang Link?

The Mumbai Crime Branch is also probing if the arrested accused had any link to the firing outside actor Salman Khan’s Galaxy Apartments residence in Mumbai’s Bandra area in April. Lawrence Bishnoi had taken responsibility for the crime.

A day after Siddique’s murder, a Facebook post claimed the Bishnoi gang was behind it. Hours later, a 28-year-old man was arrested from Pune. The police said the arrested man, Pravin Lonkar, was a “co-conspirator” and added that they were on the lookout for his brother, Shubham Lonkar.

31-year-old Bishnoi is in jail since 2015 is accused of running a trans-national crime syndicate by the National Investigation Agency. His name has been linked to several high-profile murder and extortion cases including the 2022 killing of popular Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala.

Mumbai:

The Mumbai police have arrested one more person in connection with the killing of NCP leader and former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique, officials said on Tuesday. The accused has been identified as Harishkumar Balakram (23), hailing from Bahraich in Uttar Pradesh, an official said.

Balakram was working as a scrap dealer in Maharashtra’s Pune, he said, adding the accused was also part of the conspiracy to kill Baba Siddique.

He was arrested from Bahraich, the official said.

With this, four persons have so far been arrested in connection with Mr Siddique’s killing.

Police had earlier arrested Haryana resident Gurmail Baljit Singh (23), Uttar Pradesh native Dharmaraj Rajesh Kashyap (19), both alleged shooters, and “co-conspirator” Pravin Lonkar from Pune.

Another suspected shooter Shivkumar Gautam, who hails from Bahraich, is on the run.

Baba Siddique, 66, was waylaid by three persons in Mumbai’s Nirmal Nagar area, just outside his MLA son Zeeshan Siddique’s office, and shot at on Saturday night. He was rushed to the Lilavati Hospital where he was declared dead, according to police.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Mumbai:

Mumbai Police Crime Branch on Monday arrested Pravin Lonkar from Pune in connection with NCP leader Baba Siddique’s Murder case.

According to Mumbai Police, Pravin is the brother of Shubuu Lonkar who posted on social media that the Lawrence Bishnoi gang has taken responsibility for the murder.

Shubuu Lonkar is absconding at the moment. Police say Pravin Lonkar gave shelter to both the arrested accused in Pune.

Meanwhile, the ossification test of Dharmaraj Kashyap, an accused in the murder case of NCP leader and former Maharashtra Minister Baba Siddique, was conducted by Mumbai police, and it was confirmed that he is not a minor, officials said on Monday.

An ossification test is a medical procedure that estimates a person’s age by analyzing the degree of bone fusion and is commonly used for age determination.

Following the test results, Kashyap was presented before the court, which granted police custody till October 21. Mumbai’s Esplanade Court had ordered the ossification test after Kashyap’s lawyer claimed he was a minor.

According to officials, the arrested accused, identified as Pravin Lonkar (28), is the brother of Shubham Lonkar, who is also implicated in the conspiracy. They allegedly enlisted Dharmaraj Kashyap and Shivkumar Gautam in the plot to kill Siddique, officials said.

NCP leader Baba Siddique was murdered after being shot outside his office in Nirmal Nagar. He sustained multiple gunshot wounds before being rushed to Mumbai’s Lilavati Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries on Saturday night.

His last rites were performed with full state honours in Mumbai at Bada Qabrastan on Sunday.

Commenting on the law and order situation in Maharashtra, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said, “Yesterday’s incident of Baba Siddique’s murder is unfortunate and sad. Mumbai Police have arrested two persons–one from UP and the other from Haryana. The third accused is absconding… He will be arrested soon.

“They will not be spared, no matter who they are, be it the Bishnoi gang or any underworld gang. Strict action will be taken. Those who are receiving threats will have their safety ensured, as it is the state government’s responsibility,” he added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Mumbai:
Three accused in politician Baba Siddique’s murder are now in police custody, including a co-conspirator and another whose claim of being a minor has been ruled out by a bone ossification test.

Here Are Top Points On Probe Into Baba Siddique’s Murder:

Mumbai:

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has said that the trial of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Baba Siddique’s murder case will take place in a fast-track court.

The Chief Minister also declared that the encounter specialist Daya Nayak will investigate the incident.

He said, “The Mumbai Police have been directed to maintain law and order and they should see that nobody takes law and order into their hands. Gang war should not revive. Strict action should be taken against those who indulge in such incidents.”

Meanwhile, NCP-SP MP Supriya Sule in a statement said, “Shocking news! Baba Siddique is no more. Reportedly he was shot dead. This is absolutely unacceptable when a member of the ruling government alliance is unsafe & killed in his own son’s office, that too in Mumbai, it speaks volumes about the law and order situation in Maharashtra!”

NCP-SP Legislator Rohit Pawar said, “The news of senior leader and former minister Baba Siddique’s death in firing is very shocking. I share the grief that has befallen the Siddique family. A heartfelt tribute!”

The firing on NCP leader and former minister Baba Siddique took place on Saturday night at the Khetwadi Junction, Bandra, amid darkness as the streetlights were switched off and there were no CCTV cameras in the area.

According to the preliminary information given by the police, a total of six rounds were fired at him from two pistols.

Three of the bullets hit Baba Siddique in the chest while one bullet hit the leg of the person who was with him in the car.

Even though Baba Siddique’s car was bullet-proof, the bullet entered the glass.

Therefore, the police sources said that the attackers must have sophisticated pistols.

“Baba Siddiqui was shot at close range. Later, the three attackers, who had covered their faces with handkerchiefs, were running away when the mob caught two of them and handed them over to the police. At present, the forensic team of the police has reached the spot. Police recovered a pistol and bullet casings from the spot. The pistol found at the spot was of 9.9 mm detachable magazine of 13 rounds. This pistol is said to be a sophisticated and modern one,” the police sources added.

According to the police sources, the attack took place when Baba Siddique was leaving his son Zeeshan’s office.

“As today was Vijayadashami, processions of the goddess were passing through this area. So there was the sound of musical instruments and crackers in this area. It has come to light that the attackers took advantage of this and shot at Baba Siddique. After this incident, the supporters of Baba Siddique gathered outside the Lilavati Hospital,” sources said.

At present, senior officers of the Mumbai Police have reached the spot and the investigation has started. Some police teams are investigating the incident.

Sources further said that Baba Siddique had received a death threat a fortnight ago. After that, he was given Y-security by the police. Accordingly, a police constable was stationed with Baba Siddique.

After the murder of Baba Siddique, a heavy police force has been deployed in the Khetwadi Junction area in northwest Mumbai.

The police have barricaded the place where Baba Siddique was fired upon.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

After veteran NCP leader and former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique was shot dead near his son’s office in Mumbai’s Bandra last night, a political slugfest has erupted over the killing between the ruling BJP and Opposition parties. While the BJP-led Maharashtra government has requested not to “politicise” the incident, Opposition leaders, notably from the Congress, have slammed the ruling dispensation over what they describe as a “collapse of law and order.”

Mr Siddique, 66, a prominent political figure known for his three-time stint as an MLA from Bandra West, was gunned down by unknown attackers outside his son Zeeshan Siddique’s office in Bandra East last night. According to the police, Mr Siddique sustained multiple gunshot wounds, including one to the chest, and died of his injuries at Lilavati Hospital later that night.

READ | Baba Siddique Shooters Claim To Be From Lawrence Bishnoi Gang: Sources

Following the murder, Mumbai Police arrested two suspects who claimed to belong to the notorious Lawrence Bishnoi gang. Bishnoi, incarcerated at Gujarat’s Sabarmati jail, was also involved in the shooting incident outside the residence of Bollywood actor Salman Khan, who is known to have been a close friend of Mr Siddique.

Political Slugfest

“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,” wrote Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge echoed similar sentiments, calling Mr Siddique’s murder “shocking beyond words.” In a statement released on X (formerly Twitter), Mr Kharge said, “The tragic demise of former Maharashtra Minister, Baba Siddique, is shocking beyond words. In this hour of grief, I offer my deepest condolences to his family, friends, and supporters. 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.”

READ | Strongman To Bollywood Mediator, Baba Siddique Beyond Lavish Iftar Parties

“The news of the murder of senior Maharashtra leader Baba Siddiqui is extremely sad. I pray to God to give the deceased a high place in heaven and give patience and courage to the family. What name will you give to such criminal incidents that are continuously happening in Maharashtra under the NDA rule?” asked RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav.

BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari said that the ruling Mahayuti Alliance – comprising the Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction), BJP, and the Nationalist Congress Party or NCP (Ajit Pawar faction) – wasted no time in cracking down on the culprits.

“The Maharashtra government of Eknath Shinde, Devendra Fadnavis, and Ajit Pawar’s NDA government caught two accused within 24 hours. The search for the third accused is underway, and he will also be caught soon,” Mr Bhandari said. “Politics should not be done on this. Baba Siddique was a big leader. In Maharashtra, no one can escape the law. CM Eknath Shinde is personally monitoring the investigation.”

READ | Baba Siddique’s Shooters Lived In Rented House, Did Recce For Weeks: 5 Points

BJP MP Praveen Khandelwal appreciated the state’s quick response while taking a swipe at Rahul Gandhi.

“The unfortunate incident that happened with Baba Siddique can’t be condemned enough and we are all sad about this…but state government immediately sprung into action, some accused were arrested, nobody can show promptness more than this. When it comes to Rahul Gandhi and some other people, I am sad about the fact that they look for politics in such incidents as well. When Rahul Gandhi is asking questions about the law and order situation, he should also comment on the law and order situation of the states where his party is in power,” said Mr Khandelwal

Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar also urged the Opposition to not politicise the murder.

“We are very sad that our friend is lost. The opposition should not politicise this matter,” Mr Pawar said, adding that five teams have been formed and sent to other states to investigate the case. 

Law Enforcement’s Challenge

According to the police, out of the three shooters, two have been arrested – Gurmail Baljit Singh, 23, from Haryana and Dharamraj Kashyap, 19, from Uttar Pradesh – and one has been identified as Shiv Kumar, also from UP. A fourth person, believed to be the handler, is on the run.

The suspects had been monitoring Mr Siddique for months, conducting reconnaissance of his residence and office. The police revealed that the suspects had been paid Rs 50,000 each in advance for the hit and that arms had been delivered to them only days before the assassination.

Both arrested suspects are now in police custody, and the hunt for the others continues. Mumbai Police have also heightened the security around Salman Khan’s residence.