Mumbai:

Making the second such arrest in quick succession, the Mumbai Police have arrested a man for threatening to kill actor Salman Khan. 

The Mumbai Traffic Police’s control room had received an anonymous message threatening to kill the actor if Rs 2 crore was not given as ransom. A case was registered by the Mumbai Police and, officials said, Azam Mohammad Mustafa – a resident of Bandra East – was arrested on Wednesday. 

Earlier this week, Gufran Khan, a 20-year-old tattoo artist from Noida, had been arrested for threatening Salman Khan and Bandra East MLA Zeeshan Siddique. 

Mr Siddique is the son of former Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Baba Siddique, who was shot dead in Bandra on October 12. Baba Siddique was known to be close to Salman Khan and had played a role in ending the actor’s five-year-long cold war with Shah Rukh Khan in 2013.

The tattoo artist, who had been arrested by the Mumbai Police, said he had planned to send another threatening message to demand money but was apprehended before he could do so.

The Lawrence Bishnoi gang had claimed responsibility for the firing outside Salman Khan’s residence in Bandra in April and, in a Facebook post, also said it was responsible for Baba Siddique’s murder. 

The post from the handle of one Shubuu Lonkar, believed to be Bishnoi gang associate Shubham Rameshwar Lonkar, claimed that Siddique had been killed because he was linked to India’s most wanted terrorist Dawood Ibrahim, was close to Salman Khan and because of the death of Anuj Thapan, one of the arrested suspects in the shooting outside Mr Khan’s house, in police custody.

“We do not have any enmity with anyone but whoever helps Salman Khan and the Dawood gang, keep your accounts in order (‘hisaab-kitaab kar lena’),” Lonkar wrote in Hindi in the Facebook post.

Why Salman Khan?

The Bishnoi gang, which became a household name after claiming responsibility for murdering musician Sidhu Moose Wala in 2022, has said it wants to kill Salman Khan because of his alleged involvement in shooting blackbucks at Bawad in Mathania near Jodhpur in September 1998, during the filming of ‘Hum Saath Saath Hain’.

The alleged act had upset the Bishnoi community, which considers the blackbuck sacred.

Lawrence Bishnoi had said during a court appearance in 2018: “We will kill Salman Khan in Jodhpur. Everyone will know once we take action. I have not done anything as of now, they are accusing me of crimes for no reason.”

Mumbai:

The masterminds of the murder of NCP leader Baba Siddique had promised to obtain a passport based on fake documents for one of the shooters so that he could escape abroad, police said here on Thursday.

They also paid the shooter, Gurnail Singh (23), Rs 50,000, a police official told PTI.

Siddique, a former Maharashtra minister, was shot dead outside the office of his MLA son Zeeshan Siddique in the Bandra area here on October 12.

Gurnail and another alleged shooter Dharmaraj Kashyap were arrested immediately after the attack, whereas their accomplice Shivkumar Gautam managed to flee.

Gurnail Singh, a resident of Kaithal in Haryana, had a murder case registered against him in 2019, the official said.

He had fear of being convicted in that case and wanted to flee the country, as per the probe. The conspirators promised to help him leave India by obtaining a passport based on fake documents for him, the police official said.

Shivkumar, Dharmaraj and Gurnail were from the “second module” of the shooters who were in contact with `conspirator’ Shubham Lonkar and `mastermind’ Mohammed Zeeshan Akhtar, he said.

Shivkumar and Dharmaraj were allegedly paid Rs 1.5 to 2 lakh to execute the killing.

As per the Mumbai crime branch which is investigating the case, a “module” based in Thane, comprising Nitin Sapre and Ram Kanoujia, initially received the contract to kill Siddique.

They conducted a recce of Siddique’s house and office for several days, the official said, adding that Rupesh Mohol (21), Karan Salvi (19) and Shivam Kohad (20) were also with them. Mohol, Salvi and Kohad were arrested from Pune on Thursday.

Sapre and Kanoujia demanded Rs 50 lakh for executing the killing, but the conspirators felt the sum was too big. The module led by Sapre then backed out, and a new set of shooters, including Gurnail Singh, was engaged by the conspirators, the official said.

Before that, Kanoujia had visited Udaipur with Bhagwatsingh Omsingh (also arrested) on July 7 to get the pistols that were eventually used in the crime.

The conspiracy to kill Siddique was hatched in the second half of June. As the weapons were sourced from north India, Mumbai police suspect that those who ordered the hit on Siddique were based in that part of the country, the official said.

Wanted accused Zeeshan Akhtar, who is from Jalandhar, was in Haryana in July and stayed at the residence of Amit Hisamsingh Kumar. Amit Kumar, now arrested, was an important link between Akhtar and Gurnail Singh, the official said.

So far, the police have arrested 14 persons in the case. 

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

Mumbai:

The man behind the latest threat to actor Salman Khan, in which Rs 5 crore was demanded to end the actor’s “enmity” with the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, has now sent another message saying he had made a mistake.  

The Mumbai Traffic Police had received a WhatsApp message on October 18, less than a week after former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique was shot dead in Bandra. The person who sent the message said if Salman Khan did not pay Rs 5 crore to end his enmity with the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, believed to be behind Siddique’s murder, he would also meet the same fate as the politician. 

“Don’t take this lightly. If Salman Khan wants to stay alive and end the enmity with Lawrence Bishnoi, he must pay Rs 5 crore. If the money is not given, his condition will be worse than Baba Siddique’s,” the threat message said.

Security around Mr Khan’s residence in Bandra and his farmhouse in Panvel near Mumbai, which had already been tightened after Siddique’s death, was beefed up further after the threat. 

On Monday, officials from the Mumbai Traffic Police said they had received another message from the same number in which the person apologised and said he had made a mistake by sending the earlier threatening message. 

The officials said they have traced the original message to Jharkhand and a police team from Mumbai is in the state to find the man behind it. 

Earlier Threat

On October 13, a day after Siddique’s murder, a person suspected to be from the Bishnoi gang had claimed responsibility. The post from the handle of one Shubuu Lonkar, believed to be Bishnoi gang associate Shubham Rameshwar Lonkar, claimed that Siddique had been killed because he was linked to India’s most wanted terrorist Dawood Ibrahim, was close to Salman Khan and because of the death of Anuj Thapan, one of the arrested suspects in the shooting outside Mr Khan’s house, in police custody.

“We do not have any enmity with anyone but whoever helps Salman Khan and the Dawood gang, keep your accounts in order (‘hisaab-kitaab kar lena’),” Lonkar wrote in Hindi in the Facebook post. 

Siddique was killed on October 12 by three shooters outside the office of his son and MLA Zeeshan Siddique in Bandra East. Two of the shooters had been arrested soon after the murder and the police are looking for the third shooter as well as their alleged handler. 

Mumbai:

Bollywood actor Salman Khan has been issued a death threat, allegedly by the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, demanding Rs 5 crore to “end the enmity”. A WhatsApp message, sent to Mumbai Traffic Police, warned that if the money is not paid, then the actor’s fate would be worse than that of former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique, who was murdered recently, allegedly by Bishnoi gang members.

“Don’t take this lightly. If Salman Khan wants to stay alive and end the enmity with Lawrence Bishnoi, he must pay Rs 5 crore. If the money is not given, his condition will be worse than Baba Siddiqui’s,” the threat message read. 

According to sources, the Mumbai Police is working to track the origins of the message and have increased security around Mr Khan’s Bandra residence. The actor has been on high alert following previous threats, and this recent development has added renewed concerns about his safety.

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

Yesterday, the Navi Mumbai Police arrested a key member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. The accused, identified as Sukha alias Sukhbir Balbir Singh, was apprehended in Haryana’s Panipat and has been linked to an alleged plot to assassinate Mr Khan. Singh had reportedly given a contract to other gang members to carry out the attack on the actor.

According to police sources, Singh had been in direct contact with his handler, Dogar, a Pakistani-based figure, to coordinate the planned attack. The gang had allegedly intended to use high-powered firearms, including AK-47s, M16s, and AK-92s, smuggled from Pakistan to execute the plot. 

Singh’s arrest is the latest in a series of breakthroughs in a broader investigation into the Bishnoi gang’s conspiracy against Mr Khan. Earlier this year, the Navi Mumbai police registered an FIR against 18 individuals from the gang for plotting to kill the actor. The FIR followed a shocking incident in which members of the gang fired outside Mr Khan’s Bandra residence.

READ | “Wanted Canada To Extradite Bishnoi Gang Members”: India On Diplomatic Row

Among the accused named in the case are high-profile members of the Bishnoi gang, including Lawrence Bishnoi himself, his brother Anmol, Sampat Nehra, Goldie Brar, and Rohit Godhara. These individuals have long been linked to organised criminal activity across North India and have become notorious for their brazen threats and acts of violence.

The ongoing police investigation has uncovered disturbing details about the gang’s planning. Police sources revealed that the Bishnoi gang had deployed between 60 to 70 operatives to monitor Mr Khan’s movements. These individuals conducted reconnaissance at various locations, including Mr Khan’s Bandra residence, his Panvel farmhouse, and the actor’s shooting locations. The gang even attempted to recruit minors to act as sharpshooters.

This is not the first time Mr Khan has been the target of death threats linked to the Bishnoi gang. In 2022, a letter threatening the actor was discovered on a bench near his residence, and in March 2023, the actor received an email allegedly sent by members of the gang. In January 2024, two unidentified individuals attempted to trespass into Mr Khan’s Panvel farmhouse using fake identities, an incident that prompted the actor to increase security around his property.

Mr Khan’s feud with Lawrence Bishnoi dates back several years. The gangster, currently imprisoned, has reportedly harboured a grudge against the actor over his alleged involvement in the 1998 blackbuck poaching case. The Bishnoi community reveres the blackbuck, and the incident is the primary reason why the gang seeks revenge. 

Mumbai:

In his first reaction after his father and former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique was shot dead last week, Bandra East MLA Zeeshan Siddique has said he and his family want justice. Mr Siddique also made an appeal that his father’s death should not be politicised and nor should it go in vain.

In a post on X on Thursday, Zeeshan Siddique wrote: “My father lost his life protecting and saving the lives and homes of poor innocent people. Today, my family is broken but his death must not be politicised and definitely not go in vain. I NEED JUSTICE, MY FAMILY NEEDS JUSTICE!”

Baba Siddique, 66, was shot dead by three men outside Zeeshan’s Bandra East office around 9.30 pm on Dussehra, October 13. Police had said six bullets were fired at him, four of which hit him and another hit an aide in the leg. Siddique was rushed to the Lilavati Hospital, where he was declared dead.

Two of the shooters, Gurmail Baljit Singh from Haryana and Dharamraj Kashyap from Uttar Pradesh, were arrested soon after the murder while Shiv Kumar Gautam, who is also from Uttar Pradesh, is on the run.

On Sunday, Kashyap had claimed in a Mumbai court that his age was 17 despite his Aadhar card stating that he was 19, and a bone ossification test had been ordered. On Monday, the results of the test proved that he is not a minor.

Police sources said the suspects have claimed that they work for gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, who is lodged in Gujarat’s Sabarmati jail, and the same claim was made in a social media post on Sunday. The Facebook post was made on the handle of one Shubuu Lonkar, believed to be Bishnoi gang associate Shubham Rameshwar Lonkar, claiming responsibility for the murder.

Police said the post was made by Lonkar’s brother, Pravin, who was arrested from Pune on Sunday evening. On Tuesday, another arrest was made in the case –  that of Harishkumar Balakram, 23, from Bahraich in Uttar Pradesh. Balakram worked as a scrap dealer in Pune and officials said he was part of the conspiracy to kill Baba Siddique.

The alleged handler of the three shooters, Mohammad Zeeshan Akhtar, is also on the run. 

Congress To NCP Switch

Baba Siddique, who was a three-time MLA from Bandra West, was associated with the Congress for 48 years. He had quit the party in February and joined Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). Zeeshan Siddique was expelled from the Congress in August.

The NCP leader was murdered ahead of the Assembly elections in Maharashtra and the opposition has attacked the Eknath Shinde-led ruling BJP-NCP-Shiv Sena coalition over the law-and-order situation in the state.

After the killing, NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) President Sharad Pawar had said people in the government should take responsibility and step down from their posts. 

“The deteriorating law and order situation in the state is a matter of concern. It is sad that former state minister Baba Siddique was shot dead in the country’s financial capital, Mumbai. If the Home minister and the rulers will take the state’s vehicle forward with such leniency, it can be a warning sign for the common people. This not only needs to be investigated, the rulers need to accept responsibility and step down from their posts. My heartfelt tribute to Baba Siddique and condolences to his family,” he wrote in Marathi on X. 

Chief Minister Shinde said law and order had deteriorated under the alliance led by the opposition coalition, which is known as the Maha Vikas Aghadi, and promised that the people responsible for Siddique’s killing would not be spared. 

Mumbai:

The shooters who killed Maharashtra politician Baba Siddique relied on YouTube videos to practise shooting. Accused Gurmail Singh and Dharamaraj Kashyap – who were arrested hours after they fired six rounds at Siddique – learned to shoot by watching videos on YouTube, sources said.

The police are trying to find out about the location they used to practice at, the sources added.

The Mumbai crime branch has so far recorded the statements of more than 15 people in this case, including many witnesses. The Mumbai Police also arrested one more person today – its fourth arrest – in connection with the killing of the NCP leader, claiming that he provided money and weapons for the crime.

Harishkumar Balakram Nisad (23), from Bahraich in Uttar Pradesh, was on Tuesday remanded in police custody till October 21 by a court in Mumbai.

Accused Pravin (arrested) and Shubham Lonkar (on the run) had given Rs 2 lakh to the arrested shooters Gurmail Singh and Dharamaraj Kashyap and this money was sent through the fourth accused Harish, the police said.

Nisad worked as a scrap dealer in Warje area of Pune city, said a police official.

Gurmail Baljit Singh (23), Uttar Pradesh native Dharmaraj Rajesh Kashyap (19) – the alleged shooters – were arrested on Saturday while “co-conspirator” Pravin Lonkar was arrested yesterday.

Three accused in the case – including another suspected shooter Shiva Lumar Gautam and Shubham Lonkar – are still on the run.

Nisad and Kashyap belong to the same village as the wanted accused Gautam.

Baba Siddique (66), a former Congress leader who had joined the Nationalist Congress Party earlier this year, was shot outside his MLA son Zeeshan Siddique’s office in Bandra east’s Nirmal Nagar area. He was rushed to the nearby Lilavati hospital where he was declared dead.

Pravin Lonkar was accused of “enlisting” two of the three alleged shooters. The police were also verifying a purported social media post of his brother Shubham, an alleged member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, owning up to the murder of Siddique.

The police have also written to the Facebook and Instagram authorities, seeking more details about the post.

Shubham Lonkar was also picked by Mumbai Police in June this year for questioning after the firing incident outside Salman Khan’s house in Mumbai in April as the Bishnoi gang’s involvement was suspected.

But he was let off as no evidence was found. Still, he was kept under surveillance, but on September 24 he became untraceable.

The crime branch, meanwhile, has recovered a 7.62 mm gun from a black bag found near the crime scene.

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.)

One of the suspects that the Mumbai Police are looking for in the sensational murder of former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique in Mumbai’s Bandra last week had also been questioned after the firing outside the residence of actor Salman Khan in April, but was let off because of lack of evidence. 

Police said, in their investigation, Shubham Lonkar is emerging as one of the key conspirators in the murder of Siddique, who was a three-time MLA and a member of the Ajit Pawar faction of the NCP. 

Sources said that after the firing outside Salman Khan’s residence, Galaxy Apartments, in Bandra, Lonkar, who is believed to be a key member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, was one of the people who had been picked up for questioning. His name was allegedly taken by several people who had been interrogated in the case. The sources said Lonkar was accused of providing shelter to the suspects in the firing case but had to be let go because no strong evidence could be found. 

Police had told NDTV earlier that Lonkar and his brother, Pravin, were two of the key conspirators in the Siddique murder and had enlisted two of the shooters – Dharamraj Kashyap and Shiv Kumar Gautam – in the plot. A note posted on Facebook on Sunday in which the Lawrence Bishnoi gang took responsibility for Siddique’s murder was also allegedly from Shubham Lonkar’s account. 

While Pravin was arrested from Pune on Sunday evening, Shubham is still on the run.  

The names of the Lonkar brothers were used by the police in court on Monday to state officially for the first time that the Bishnoi gang could be behind Siddique’s killing. 

Warning Post

In the Facebook post, Lonkar claimed that Siddique had been killed because he was linked to India’s most wanted terrorist Dawood Ibrahim, was close to Salman Khan and because of the death of Anuj Thapan, one of the arrested suspects in the shooting outside Mr Khan’s house, in police custody.

Thapan was found dead on May 1 inside the Mumbai Crime Branch lock-up. The police had said he died by suicide but his family had claimed he was tortured in custody.

“We do not have any enmity with anyone but whoever helps Salman Khan and the Dawood gang, keep your accounts in order (‘hisab-kitaab kar lena’),” Lonkar wrote in Hindi in the Facebook post, whose authenticity is being verified.

Security has been tightened around Mr Khan’s house in Bandra as well as his farmhouse in Panvel near Mumbai.

Raj Kanojia, the man who suffered a bullet injury in the leg on the day Baba Siddique was shot dead in Mumbai, rues the fact that he will be out of action for two months. This, he says, makes it difficult for him to contribute to his sister’s wedding in February.

Six rounds were fired on Baba Siddique, two of which hit the former Maharashtra minister on the chest, outside his MLA son Zeeshan Siddique’s office in Bandra between 9:15pm and 9:30pm on Saturday. A stray bullet hit the 22-year-old as he was returning from a fruit juice centre.

“Madad kya sir ab toh pair main goli lag gayi hai. February main shadi hai sister ki. Do mahine kuch kar nahi paayege hum (What help, sir. I have been shot in the leg. My sister’s wedding is in February. I won’t be able to do much,” lamented Mr Kanojia, dressed in a white kurta, from his hospital bed.

“The atmosphere was such. It felt like crackers were being burst. I felt as if a cracker had exploded on my feet. When I checked, I found blood. Soon, chaos ensued. People started running everywhere. People shouted, there’s been a firing, there’s been a firing. Hobbling on one leg, I somehow reached the nearby temple. Some people took me inside and then I was taken to a hospital,” said Mr Kanojia, fighting back tears.

The Mumbai Police suspects Baba Siddique was killed at the behest of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, who is incarcerated in Gujarat jail.  

Shooters Gurmail Baljit Singh and Dharmaraj Rajesh Kashyap were arrested the night of the crime. A third shooter, Shiv Kumar, managed to escape.

Two of the three alleged shooters in the case – Kumar and Kashyap – are from Gandara village in Bahraich in Uttar Pradesh. From poor families, both had moved to Pune from their village after Holi to earn money. When NDTV reached out to their families, they said they had no information about why and when they went to Mumbai. The third accused, Singh, is from Haryana.

Alleged shooter Shiv Kumar had taken to posting online content in recent months, flaunting his “gangster” status.

“Yaar tera gangster hai jaani (Your friend is a gangster),” Kumar had captioned his photo post on his Instagram on July 24. The photo showed him on a motorcycle as a Haryanvi song played in the background.

The third accused in the case – Pravin Lonkar – was produced in a Mumbai court which remanded him in police custody till October 21. He is accused of enlisting two of the three alleged shooters who opened fire at Baba Siddique, who had crossed over from Congress to Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party in February.

The cops added that they were on the lookout for Pravin’s brother, Shubham Lonkar.

According to the police, Shubham Lonkar posted on social media that the Lawrence Bishnoi gang has taken responsibility for the murder. His brother Pravin gave shelter to both the arrested accused in Pune.

The Mumbai Police has set up 15 teams which have fanned out of Maharashtra in search for individuals linked to the high-profile murder.

A Mumbai police official said only one constable was accompanying Siddique when he was shot dead by three men who took cover of Dussehra fireworks to open fire.

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, meanwhile, has assured that those responsible for Siddique’s brutal murder will not escape justice.

Mumbai:

After former Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Baba Siddique was shot dead outside his son’s office on Saturday, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde assured that those responsible for Siddique’s brutal murder will not escape justice. 

“Our responsibility is to maintain law and order. Whoever is responsible for Baba Siddique’s murder will not be spared,” Mr Shinde said. 

The Chief Minister alleged that the law and order situation had deteriorated during the tenure of the previous Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government. According to Mr Shinde, under the MVA’s administration, security measures had weakened, leading to a rise in criminal incidents, adding that his government would ensure that justice is delivered and that lawbreakers face the full weight of the law.

The murder of Mr Siddique shocked the state and triggered widespread concerns about public safety. The Mumbai Police has arrested two suspects in connection with the case. A third suspect remains at large, and the Chief Minister assured the public that efforts are being intensified to apprehend the fugitive. Shinde stated, “The third accused is on the run. 

“Yesterday’s incident of Baba Siddique’s murder is unfortunate and sad. Mumbai Police has arrested two people, one is from UP and the other from Haryana. The third accused is on the run. 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, their safety is the state government’s responsibility and it will fulfil its responsibility,” Mr Shinde said. 

According to police, Mr Siddique was shot multiple times, sustaining two critical gunshot wounds to his chest. He was immediately rushed to Mumbai’s Lilavati Hospital where he died shortly after his arrival.

A political slugfest 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.”