Baba Siddique Murder: Mumbai Police on Wednesday arrested three more persons in connection with the murder of NCP leader Baba Siddique. Another person, a Haryana native, suspected to be a crucial link between a shooter and the mastermind of the murder plot, was also arrested.
The three people arrested from Pune late Wednesday evening include Rupesh Rajendra Mohol (22), Karan Rahul Salve (19), and Shivam Arvind Kohad (20). All of them are residents of Pune. Their involvement in the case has been established and they have been arrested, Mumbai Crime Branch said. Amit Hisamsing Kumar, 29, was nabbed from Haryana.
Police suspected Amit Kumar's involvement in hatching the murder conspiracy and its execution. Some suspected financial dealings involving him and another accused are also under police's scanner, news agency PTI reported citing an official.
According to the police, Kumar is an important link between one of the shooters Gurmail Singh, who is in custody, and the alleged mastermind of the conspiracy Mohammed Zeeshan Akhtar, who is on the run. The preliminary investigation revealed that Akhtar was the common link between murder conspirators and shooters.
A crime branch team nabbed Amit Kumar from Haryana on Tuesday evening and brought him to Mumbai on Wednesday morning. He has been remanded in police custody till November 4.
Baba Siddique, 66, was shot dead outside his son and MLA Zeeshan Siddique's office in Mumbai's Bandra area on October 12. Those arrested so far in connection with the case include two suspected shooters Dharmaraj Kashyap and Gurmail Singh. However, the main shooter Shivkumar Gautam and two conspirators remain at large.
So far, the investigation suggests that a Thane-based five-member contract killing module was given the contract to kill the former Maharashtra minister. However, the module had backed out of the killing contract after a disagreement on a sum of Rs 50 lakh, which it was demanding for executing the crime. Given the clout of the late politician, the module had been provided logistical support and other assistance needed for carrying out the hit. But, despite this, they backed out over the contract money, PTI reported citing police.
Investigators are yet to establish the motive behind the murder. The case is being probed from various angles, including business rivalry, contract killing, or threats over a slum rehabilitation project in Mumbai.