Preliminary investigations into the murder of former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique have unraveled an elaborate operation involving a high quantity of ammunition procurement, YouTube training in firearms, and a detailed escape route. The plotters were focused on ensuring accuracy in the commission of the murder, having enough ammunition, and good means of escape.
So far, four persons have been arrested, and they include 23-year-old Gurmail Baljit Singh and 19-year-old Dharmaraj Rajesh Kashyap, both shooters, 23-year-old Harishkumar Balakram Nisad and co-accused Pravin Lonkar of Pune.
Singh and Kashyap were armed with 65 bullets, a stock to ensure that during the operation, they would not fall short. When Siddique was shot dead outside the office of his son Zeeshan Siddique in Nirmal Nagar, Bandra, on October 12, a total of six rounds were fired.
Authorities recovered two firearms linked with the accused, an Austrian-made pistol and a locally manufactured country-made pistol. The police said that during the arrest, 28 live rounds were recovered on Singh and Kashyap. A black color bag recovered near the spot of the crime contained a Turkish-made 7.62 bore pistol and 30 live rounds along with two Aadhar cards in the name of Shivkumar Gautam, a wanted suspect.
The attackers had initially planned to murder by riding a motorbike for a quick getaway. However, a traffic accident forced them to switch over to an auto-rickshaw. One Harishkumar Nisad had transferred ₹60,000 for the purchase of a motorbike intended for the assassination.
It has identified one Shubham Lonkar, a member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, as the main accused, who is still on the run. Efforts are being made to trace him, but it is reported that the suspects used social media to keep in touch and avoid police surveillance.
