The Mumbai police investigating the murder of former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique has so far arrested nine accused in the case and have found out that his son Zeeshan Siddique might have also been in the accused's hit list as they found his photo on of the shooter's phone.
The involvement of notorious Lawrence Bishnoi gang is being looked at by the investigators which has so far led to other criminal incidents as well including the suspension of three officers in Mathura after a shooter revealed controversial information.
Former Congress leader, Baba Siddique (66) was shot dead near Zeeshan Siddique's office on Saturday night.
The city police's crime branch on Friday held the five accused for allegedly providing firearms and logistical support to the shooters of Baba Siddique, taking the total number of arrests in the case to nine. Three key persons are on the run.
Baba Siddique Murder Probe: Top Points
According to ANI, police investigating the murder of Baba Siddique found a photo of NCP MLA Zeeshan Siddique on the phone of one of the suspects arrested in the case. The handler is suspected to be Shubham Lonkar who is linked to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang and sent the photo of junior Siddique via Snapchat and later asked to delete it.
Mathura Senior Superintendent of Police Shailesh Pandey suspended three officers after a video of Yogesh, a sharpshooter from the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, went viral.
In the video, Yogesh, while in police custody, reportedly claimed his encounter in Mathura was fake and made statements regarding NCP leader Baba Siddiquie's murder in Mumbai.
The suspended officers include sub-inspector Ramsanehi, head constable Vipin, and constable Sanjay, all stationed at the Refinery police station.
The Mumbai police have found that the five newly-arrested accused had demanded Rs 50 lakh for the killing, but backed out later due to disagreement over payment and also considering the NCP leader's clout.
The accused provided logistical and other support to those involved in shooting the former MLA dead.
They were identified as Nitin Gautam Sapre (32), Sambhaji Kisan Pardhi (44), Pradeep Dattu Thombre (37), Chetan Dilip Pardhi and Ram Fulchand Kanoujia (43). Sapre is from Dombivali, while Pardhi, Thombre and Pardhi (27) are from Ambernath in Thane district. Kanoujia is a resident of Panvel in Raigad, police said.
The investigators have found that the module led by Sapre was in contact with conspirator Shubham Lonkar and mastermind Mohammed Zeeshan Akhtar till the firing, the official said.
The police are now investigating whether Shubham and Akhtar brought the proposal of the NCP leader's killing to them through the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, he said.
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 "co-conspirator" Shubham Lonkar’s brother Pravin Lonkar, who hails from Pune.
Siddique (66), a former Maharashtra minister, was shot dead on October 12 night outside his MLA son Zeeshan Siddique's office in Mumbai’s upscale Bandra.
The main shooter in the case, Shivkumar Gautam, along with Shubham Lonkar and Mohammed Zeeshan Akhtar, is currently on the run. The police have issued a look-out circular (LOC) against the three accused.
