Shooters who killed Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and three-time MLA Baba Siddique had recced his house and office premises for around two months and were keeping an eye on him, Mumbai Police said on Sunday. The police have confirmed the involvement of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi in the killing, The Indian Express reported.
Two accused have been arrested and they have been identified as Karnail Singh, who is from Haryana, and Dharamraj Kashyap, a resident of Uttar Pradesh. The search for the third accused is on as several teams of the Mumbai Crime Branch are investigating this case, the police added.
Attackers Used Firecrackers As Cover To Shoot Baba Siddique
Siddique's attackers used firecrackers as cover to shoot him during Dussehra celebrations on Saturday night. They attacked him when firecrackers were being burst outside the office of his son and MLA Zeeshan Siddique. The attackers reportedly stepped out of a car and opened fire at Siddique with a 9.9 mm pistol without warning.
Meanwhile, security has been enhanced outside Galaxy apartments, the residence of actor Salman Khan who stays in the same suburbs. Siddique and Salman Khan were known to be close friends and the killing of the former Maharashtra minister took place six months after Lawrence Bishnoi gang members fired shots at Khan's home in Mumbai.
Links To Lawrence Bishnoi Gang
Police interrogations have revealed a conspiracy involving the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, infamous for its criminal activities across states. Three of the suspects reportedly became acquainted with Bishnoi gang members when they were lodged in a Punjab jail. They were later contracted to eliminate Siddique for a sum of Rs 2.5 lakh, police sources said.
A Congressman since his student days, Siddique quit the party to join Ajit Pawar's NCP in February this year. The former minister had a Y-category security, PTI reported. In the early 90s, Ramdas Nayak and Premkumar Sharma, then sitting BJP MLAs from Bandra and Khetwadi, respectively, were shot dead. Shiv Sena legislators Vitthal Chavan and Ramesh More were also gunned down in Mumbai in the 90s.
How Baba Siddique Was Attacked
On the night of the attack, the three assailants arrived at the site in an auto rickshaw, armed and prepared. Eyewitnesses recounted that the gunmen fired six rounds in total, with three bullets striking Siddique. A bystander was also injured in the leg by stray gunfire and was treated at Lilavati Hospital.
Following the attack, authorities recovered six bullet casings from the scene, corroborating witness accounts. Preliminary findings indicate that the shooters had inside information, possibly provided by an accomplice who tracked Siddique's daily routine and kept the attackers informed, the sources said.