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.

The Congress says the killing of NCP leader Baba Siddique is a serious indictment of the “crumbling” law and order situation in Maharashtra and demands a thorough and transparent investigation into the incident.

In a post on X, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge says Siddique’s tragic demise is shocking beyond words.

“In this hour of grief, I offer my deepest condolences to his family, friends and supporters,” he says.

“Justice must be ensured, and the present Maharashtra Govt must order a thorough and transparent investigation. The culprits must be brought to book at the earliest. Accountability is paramount,” Kharge adds.

-PTI

Mumbai:

Baba Siddique, a former Maharashtra minister and member of the Ajit Pawar faction of the NCP, has died after being shot at in Mumbai’s Bandra. 

Sources said the shooters fired six bullets around 9.30 pm on Saturday near the office of Mr Siddique’s son Zeeshan, who is the MLA from Bandra East. Two people have been arrested.

Mr Siddique was rushed to the Lilavati Hospital. Sources said four bullets hit the 66-year-old NCP leader and one of his aides also suffered a gunshot wound. The firing took place on Dussehra and came months ahead of the Maharashtra Assembly elections, which are expected to be held later this year. 

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said he had spoken to police and doctors at the hospital. “The incident is extremely unfortunate. There are reports that he (Mr Siddique) has died. Two people have been arrested, one from Uttar Pradesh and one from Haryana, while another is on the run. I have asked the police to take strict action and ensure no one takes law and order into their hands. A gang-war-like situation should not be allowed to resurface in Mumbai,” he said in Marathi. 

Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who also holds the Home portfolio, has reached the hospital. Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar wrote on X that he was shocked to know about Mr Siddique’s death and that he had lost a good colleague and friend.

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

Expressing his shock, NCP Spokesperson Brijmohan Shrivastav told NDTV that Mr Siddique had not spoken about any threats from anybody. 

Mr Siddique was elected as an MLA from the Bandra West constituency in 1999, 2004 and 2009 and served as a minister of state for food and civil supplies, labour and FDA between 2004 and 2008. 

The former MLA was known not just for his political acumen but also for hosting lavish parties. A cold war between superstars Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan was resolved at an ‘iftar’ party hosted by Mr Siddique in 2013.

Salman Khan and actor Sanjay Dutt have also reached the hospital.

Law And Order Questions

Expressing grief at the death of Mr Siddique, leaders of opposition parties also raised questions about law and order in Mumbai, asking how a politician who had Y-level security could be killed in public in an upscale area like Bandra. 

NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) President Sharad Pawar 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 Siddiqui and condolences to his family,” he wrote in Marathi. 

Congress leader and leader of the opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly, Vijay Wadettiwar, said the state government has supported criminals.

“The shooting and killing of former minister of state and former MLA Baba Siddique, who had Y-level security, is very shocking and tragic. I am praying for strength to his family in this difficult time. A big leader in the state has been shot like this. We keep saying that Maharashtra has become Uttar Pradesh. Mumbai was peaceful but such incidents are happening here now because there is no fear of the police in the city. The government has supported criminals,” the Congress leader wrote in Marathi.

In his post on X, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said the incident would be thoroughly investigated and strict action would be taken against the attackers.