Mumbai Police arrested five more people on Friday in connection with the murder case of former Maharashtra Minister Baba Siddique. With these arrests, the total number of accused held till now has reached nine.
Three incidents of violence took place here early yesterday morning, in which a shop was burnt and another attacked, PTI quoted the police as saying while identifying the arrested individuals.
The police said that the Crime Branch conducted a series of raids in Panvel and Karjat that resulted in the arrests of the above five persons for conspiring about the crime and its commission, PTI reported concerning a police officer.
All the arrested persons were also in contact with the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, which is accused of killing Siddique, the officer said.
“The total number of arrests in the case now stands at nine. Further probe is underway,” he said.
The Mumbai Police earlier arrested four persons, including Haryana resident Gurmail Baljit Singh (23), Uttar Pradesh native Dharmaraj Rajesh Kashyap (19), both alleged shooters;
Harishkumar Balakram Nisad (23) and Pravin Lonkar, a “co-conspirator” from Pune. Nisad and Kashyap belong to the same village as the wanted accused, Shivkumar Gautam.
Gautam was engaged as the “main shooter” as he knew how to use guns, the official said while quoting the interrogation of Gurmail Singh and Dharmaraj Kashyap.
The four arrested accused were produced in court, after which they were sent to custody until October 21.
Three men shot at NCP leader and MLA thrice Baba Siddique outside his MLA son Zeeshan Siddique’s office in Bandra, Mumbai, on Saturday evening. He was later rushed to the Lilavati Hospital, where he was declared dead.
According to the police sources, Baba Siddique and Zeeshan Siddique both were on the radar of shooters.
In September, Zeeshan wrote to the state intelligence unit seeking enhanced security, citing a threat to life. This was even though Zeeshan was an MLA and received police protection.
According to sources, though Zeeshan had police protection as an MLA, his security was enhanced after he expressed his concerns.
