Three men involved in the killing of politician Baba Siddique on Saturday allegedly threw chili powder into the eyes of a police constable to hinder him. At the same time, he guarded the former Maharashtra minister. Siddique, a three-time MLA, was shot dead outside his son, MLA Zeeshan Siddique’s office in Mumbai’s Bandra East.
Of the suspects, 23-year-old Gurmel Baljit Singh from Haryana and 19-year-old Dharmaraj Kashyap from Uttar Pradesh have been arrested, while the third shooter, Shivkumar Gautam, is still on the run.
The shooters had decided to kill the 66-year-old NCP leader when the Dussehra procession celebrations were in full swing and felt safe as the firecracker explosions would drown the gunshot sounds. However, when he saw the sea of people and the tight security cordon around Siddique, Shivkumar himself insisted on opening fire.
Armed with chili powder and pepper spray, the trio sprang into action. After Shivkumar fired six bullets at Siddique, they sprinkled chili powder on the constable, thereby causing a diversion. Shivkumar disappeared into the crowd and escaped while Singh and Kashyap were caught. The police recovered two pistols and 28 live rounds from the suspects.
Non-categorized security was provided to Baba Siddique. Three police constables were given in shifts. At the time of the shooting, one officer was accompanying him.
Sources said the arrested shooters mentioned Shivkumar as the ringleader. After interrogation, they played the unaware pawns, telling the interrogators only Shivkumar knew who was the mastermind behind the murder.
Police blamed the killing on the gang of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, presently imprisoned in Sabarmati jail in Gujarat. Bishnoi was accused of several violent crimes, including a shooting outside the Mumbai home of Bollywood actor Salman Khan, a close friend of Baba Siddique.
The suspects reportedly had been tailing Siddique for several months, reconnoitering his residence and office. They were paid an advance of ₹50,000 each, while the firearms were delivered only days before the assassination.
According to Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday, whether it is the Bishnoi gang or some other underworld group, nobody will be spared, ensuring all efforts were being made to arrest the third suspect in the case.
The crime branch of Mumbai Police arrested a 28-year-old “co-conspirator” named Pravin Lonkar from Pune on Sunday evening. His brother, Shubham Lonkar, is being pursued by police, as it is alleged that he aided in Siddique’s murder by hiring Shivkumar and Kashyap.
