Shiv Kumar Gautam, the main accused in the murder case of former minister and NCP leader Baba Siddique, revealed that after the firing, he stood outside the Lilavati Hospital – where the politician was taken – to ascertain if Mr Siddique died or survived the attack, the police said.

The shooter, who quickly changed his shirt after the firing, told the police that he stood outside the hospital for 30 minutes among the crowd. He left as soon he came to know that Mr Siddique’s condition was very critical.

Mr Siddique, 66, was shot dead in Mumbai’s Bandra on October 12 at 9:11 pm, the police said. He sustained two bullet injuries on his chest and was rushed to the Lilavati Hospital, where he passed away.

According to the accused, as per the initial plan, he was supposed to meet his aides – Dharmaraj Kashyap and Gurmail Singh at the Ujjain railway station – where a member of the Bishnoi gang was to take them to Vaishno Devi.

However, the plan failed as Kashyap and Singh were caught by the police.

How police arrested the main accused

Four friends of the main accused, whose late-night conversations on mobile phones raised suspicions, played a key role in helping the Mumbai police track down Gautam – who was arrested on Sunday.

The Mumbai Crime Branch and the Uttar Pradesh Police Special Task Force (STF) arrested Gautam along with Anurag Kashyap, Gyan Prakash Tripathi, Akash Srivastava and Akhilendra Pratap Singh near the Nepal border.

According to the police, the investigation was triggered by suspicious activities of Gautam’s four friends, who were spotted purchasing clothes in various sizes and planning to meet him in a remote forest. They were in constant touch with Gautam via internet calls on mobile phones – which were purchased in Lucknow, reported PTI.

The four aides were planning to assist the main accused in fleeing the country, the police said.

Gautam, after the firing, went to Kurla from the crime scene, boarded a local train to Thane, and then fled to Pune – where he reportedly dumped his mobile phone. He stayed in Pune for around seven days and then travelled to Uttar Pradesh’s Jhansi and Lucknow.

On Sunday, Gautam was found hiding in the hamlet of 10 to 15 hutments, around 10 km from Nanpara, a town in Uttar Pradesh.

New Delhi:

Shiv Kumar Gautam, the main accused in the murder case of Maharashtra politician Baba Siddique, has made big revelations after his arrest from Uttar Pradesh’s Bahraich on Sunday. During interrogation, the 20-year-old told the police about his interaction with Anmol Bishnoi, the brother of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, and how he fled after killing Baba Siddique.

Shiv Kumar was arrested along with his four aides from Bahraich while he was trying to flee to Nepal. He is among the three shooters who shot dead Mr Siddique outside his MLA son Zeeshan Siddique’s office in Mumbai on October 12. While the other two were arrested, he had managed to flee.

During interrogation, he said that Anmol Bishnoi, the brother of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, had told him to shoot the 66-year-old NCP leader or his son, Zeeshan, police sources said.

“Shoot whoever you see first,” Anmol apparently told Shiv Kumar.

Before carrying out the murder, Anmol Bishnoi, who is believed to be in Canada and is also on the most-wanted list of the National Investigation Agency, had given a pep talk to Shiv Kumar.

Mumbai police crime branch sources said Anmol told him what he was going to do was for “God and the society.”

A picture of Zeeshan Siddique, 32, was reportedly found on a cell phone seized from one of the three men who shot his father.

Shiv Kumar Gautam Changed Clothes After Baba Siddique Murder

After killing Baba Siddique, Shiv Kumar Gautam immediately changed his shirt and disappeared into the crowd so that no one could identify him, Mumbai police crime branch sources.

He then stayed near the crime scene to avoid any confrontation.

The 20-year-old then initially travelled from the crime scene to Kurla in an auto and then boarded a local train to Thane, sources said.

From Thane, he took a train to Pune and dumped his mobile phone during the journey.

Shiv Kumar stayed in Pune for about seven days and then went to Uttar Pradesh’s Jhansi by train. He then stayed there for five days and went to the state capital Lucknow.

In Lucknow, he bought a new mobile and contacted his aides. After spending 11 days there, he travelled to his native Bahraich and met his aides, who had arranged a safehouse for him in a nearby village.

Shiv Kumar also said that after killing Baba Siddique, he first planned to go to Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain and then to Vaishno Devi in Jammu before fleeing the country.

How Cops Caught Shiv Kumar Gautam

The police traced about 45 people, including Shiv Kumar Gautam’s family members and his close aides, and tracked their movements after Baba Siddique’s murder.

During the investigation, they zeroed down to four people who were constantly in contact with Shiv Kumar, police sources said.

The police then laid a trap and waited for those four accused to meet Shiv Kumar. They then caught him from the Nanpara area of Bahraich on Sunday.

He was arrested in a joint operation by the police officials of Uttar Pradesh and Mumbai.

Anurag Kashyap, Gyan Prakash Tripathi, Akash Srivastava and Akhileshendra Pratap Singh were also arrested for giving shelter to Shiv Kumar and helping him escape to Nepal.

The police have so far arrested 20 in the case.

Baba Siddique was murdered apparently because of his close relationship with actor Salman Khan. Lawrence Bishnoi’s associates have hinted that the grouse against Mr Khan is about the blackbucks he killed 20 years ago. Blackbucks are sacred to the Bishnoi community.

New Delhi:

Shiv Kumar Gautam, the main accused in the murder case of Maharashtra politician Baba Siddique, was arrested from Uttar Pradesh’s Bahraich on Sunday. Sources said he was trying to flee to Nepal.

Shiv Kumar, along with two other accused — Gurnail Singh, a resident of Haryana and Dhramraj Kashyap of Uttar Pradesh — shot dead Mr Siddique, 66, outside his politician son Zeeshan Siddique’s office in Mumbai on October 12.

While Singh and Kashyao were arrested immediately after the attack, Shiv Kumar had managed to flee.

Shiv Kumar, a resident of Uttar Pradesh, was caught in a joint operation by the police officials of Uttar Pradesh and Mumbai from the Nanpara area of Bahraich.

During interrogation, he apparently said they were in Mumbai for days conducting recce for the NCP leader and on the night of October 12, “When we got the right time, we killed Baba Siddique”.

Police sources said Shiv Kumar has also admitted that he is linked to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. The murder, he allegedly said, was carried out on the instructions of Anmol Bishnoi, the brother of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi.

Anmol’s name has also cropped up in the murder of Punjabi singer-politician Sidhu Moosewala in 2022, and the firing outside actor Salman Khan’s residence in Mumbai in April. He is on the most-wanted list of the National Investigation Agency, and a Rs 10 lakh reward has been announced for his arrest.

How Cops Caught Shiv Kumar Gautam

After the murder of Baba Siddique, Shiv Kumar had gone to Omkareshwar in Madhya Pradesh to meet some henchmen of the gang. The Mumbai police had tracked him to Omkareshwar but failed to catch him.

The police then traced about 45 people, including Shiv Kumar’s family members and his close aides, and tracked their movements.

During the investigation, they zeroed down to four people who were constantly in contact with Shiv Kumar, police sources said.

A house next to Shiv Kumar’s residence was apparently made a safehouse for him. The police then laid a trap and waited for those four accused to meet Shiv Kumar. They then caught him and his four aides there on Sunday.

Anurag Kashyap, Gyan Prakash Tripathi, Akash Srivastava and Akhileshendra Pratap Singh were arrested for giving shelter to Shiv Kumar and helping him escape to Nepal. The police have so far arrested 20 in the case.

Baba Siddique was murdered apparently because of his close relationship with actor Salman Khan. Lawrence Bishnoi’s associates have hinted that the grouse against Mr Khan is about the blackbucks he killed 20 years ago. Blackbucks are sacred to the Bishnoi community.

Investigators said Baba Siddique’s son and Mumbai MLA Zeeshan Siddique is also a target for the same reason. His photo was reportedly found on a cell phone seized from one of the three men who shot his father.