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.