Baba Siddique Murder Case: One Accused Claims To Be Minor, Mumbai Court Orders Bone Test To Confirm Age

Baba Siddique Murder Case: A Mumbai court remanded one accused in the murder of Baba Siddique to police custody until October 21. The other accused will undergo an ossification test to determine his age.

A court in Mumbai on Sunday remanded one of the two accused, arrested for the murder of former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique, to police custody until October 21. The court also directed a bone ossification test for the second accused Dharamraj Kashyap after he claimed to be a minor. Based on the results of the test, the court will decide whether the proceedings against him will continue in a juvenile court or a regular court.

The court has directed the police to conduct the ossification test, which estimates a person's age by analysing the fusion of bones. 

The police produced the alleged assailants, identified as Gurmail Baljit Singh (23) from Haryana, and Dharamraj Kashyap, a native of Uttar Pradesh, before the court on Sunday afternoon. The crime branch, investigating the case, sought 14 days of remand, stating that they needed time to examine if there were any international links to the crime. 

"The person killed was not any ordinary person, but a former minister. Despite security, the assailants managed to shoot him. We need to find out the intention and motive behind the crime," public prosecutor Gautam Gaikwad told the court, as quoted by news agency PTI. He further added that it was crucial to ascertain whether political rivalry played a role in the shooting.

Baba Siddique: Defense Lawyers Contends ‘Might Have Been Killed Due To Political Rivalry’, Accused ‘Falsely Implicated’

Advocate Sidharth Agarwal, representing both accused, argued that while the crime was "very sad and disheartening," the involvement of the accused had not been established. He suggested that Baba Siddique "might have been killed due to a political rivalry and the two accused were falsely implicated in the case."

Regarding the custody of the accused, Agarwal told PTI, "The police had asked for 14 days custody of accused no. 1 for which the court has granted seven days of custody. Accused no. 2 will undergo an ossification test first and then he will be produced in the court."

Baba Siddique (66), a former Congress leader who joined the Ajit Pawar-led NCP earlier this year, was shot outside his son Zeeshan Siddique’s office in Kher Nagar, Bandra, Mumbai. He was rushed to Lilavati Hospital, where he was declared dead, according to the police.