Mumbai: The possible involvement of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi behind the murder of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Baba Siddique, who was shot dead on Saturday night by three unidentified attackers in Mumbai, police said on Sunday.
An unverified post claims the responsibility over Siddique’s links with actor Salman Khan has gone viral.
Members of the Bishnoi gang were previously accused of attempting the murder of actor Salman Khan earlier this year.
Police have arrested the two accused who are identified as Gurmail Baljit Singh (23 years old) from Haryana and Dharmaraj Rajesh Kashyap (19 years old) from Uttar Pradesh.
The Mumbai crime branch, which is probing the case, also said that police are investigating the case from various angles.
Senior officers from the Mumbai police's crime branch have been questioning two of the accused—Gurmail Singh and Dharamraj Kashyap—in the case.
They revealed that the accused were paid in advance for their crime. They had received an arms delivery a few days ago to assist with the murder.
The police are currently searching for the third culprit in the murder case. Forensic teams are also working on the crime scene to aid the investigation.
Five teams have been formed by city police to investigate the case, while the identity of the third absconding accused has been revealed during the investigation, two accused police said.
A total of 6 rounds of bullets were fired at Baba Siddique, out of which 3 bullets hit him. The 9.9 mm gun, which supposedly was used during the firing, was recovered by the police.
The doctors at Lilavati Hospital, where he was declared dead, stated that there had been two gunshot wounds on his chest, but until the post-mortem, there could be no certainty of all his wounds.
Mumbai police released an official statement on the progress of the investigation into the murder of NCP leader Baba Siddique.
In the statement, they said, “The case is being investigated by the Crime Branch, Mumbai. A search for the third accused is ongoing, and the investigation is being conducted from all possible angles.”
The Mumbai police also confirmed that a case had been registered regarding the murder of Baba Siddique.
The case was registered at Nirmal Nagar Police Station under sections 103(1), 109, 125, and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with Sections 3, 25, 5, and 27 of the Arms Act, and Section 37 and Section 137 of the Maharashtra Police Act.
According to the police, Siddique had received a threat to his life 15 days ago, after which his security was beefed up to the Y category.
Baba Siddique was attacked outside his MLA son Zeeshan Siddiqui's office near Colgate Ground in Nirmal Nagar. According to the police, the attackers fired two to three rounds at him.
The former state minister was rushed to Lilavati Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.
Siddique had recently joined the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), led by Ajit Pawar, after resigning from the Congress party earlier this year.
Siddique was a three-time MLA from the Bandra West assembly constituency but lost the 2014 Maharashtra assembly polls to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Ashish Shelar.
He also served as a municipal corporation for two consecutive terms from 1992 to 1997.
During the Congress-NCP government in early 2000, Baba Siddique held positions such as minister of state for food & civil supplies, labour, food and drug administration (FDA), and consumer protection.
According to family sources, Siddique's burial will take place today at 8:30 pm at Bada Kabarastan in south Mumbai.
His last prayer, called Namaz E Janaza, will take place at 7 p.m. at Maqba Heights, 15 A, Pali Road, Pali Naka, Bandra (W).
Siddique was survived by his MLA son Zeeshan Baba Siddique, daughter Dr. Arshia Siddique, and wife Shehzeen Siddique .
The body of the politician has also been shifted to Cooper Hospital to conduct a post-mortem examination.
