November 15, 2024 04:48 (IST)
Follow us:
facebook-white sharing button
twitter-white sharing button
instagram-white sharing button
youtube-white sharing button
Bangladesh's top official proposes to remove 'secularism' from constitution | Donald Trump picks immigration hardliner Stephen Miller as deputy chief of staff for policy | India to follow up on terrorist Arsh Dalla's extradition request after his arrest in Canada | AAP councillor Mahesh Khinchi wins MCD election to become Delhi Mayor | Delhi air pollution: GRAP-3 curbs start tomo; construction works banned, primary schools shift to online mode
Baba Siddique's shooters threw chilli powder at cops, mastermind still out of reach
Baba Siddique
Baba Siddique was an NCP leader who was close to Bollywood superstars like Salman Khan. Photo courtesy: Baba Siddique Facebook

Baba Siddique's shooters threw chilli powder at cops, mastermind still out of reach

| @indiablooms | 14 Oct 2024, 12:58 pm

Mumbai/IBNS: The three men who shot dead Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Baba Siddique threw chilli powder at police officers and also carried pepper spray as a part of the assassination plan, media reports said.

Among the three, two men- Gurmel Baljit Singh from Haryana and Dharmaraj Kashyap from Uttar Pradesh- have been arrested.

The third accused- Shivkumar Gautam- is on the run.

As per the plan, Gurmel and Dharmaraj were about to shoot the NCP leader but later Shivkumar took the charge in view of the security cover.

The Dussehra procession and fireworks were treated by the accused as the cover under which the shooters decided to execute the plan.

While Gurmel and Dharmaraj were caught, Shivkumar took to his heels and fled hiding in the crowd.

Meanwhile, the Lawrence Bishnoi gang has taken responsibility for the killing of Siddique, an ex-Maharashtra minister and a former Congress leader.

The 66-year-old NCP leader was shot dead outside his son Zeeshan Siddique's office in Bandra East, Mumbai, on Saturday night.

Police are also searching for a fourth accused believed to be the mastermind behind the crime.

The attack occurred around 9:30 pm when assailants opened fire, targeting Siddique and his associate, with multiple bullets fatally hitting the politician in the chest. A few hours later, the infamous Bishnoi gang claimed responsibility for the assassination in a social media post.

Central agencies are now investigating the post, which is allegedly linked to a Facebook account under the name Shibu Lonkar.

Sources indicated this may actually be Shubham Rameshwar Lonkar, an associate of the Bishnoi gang.

Shubham Lonkar was arrested earlier this year in Akola, Maharashtra, for illegal weapons possession and is believed to have strong ties to the Bishnoi network.

During questioning, Shubham admitted to having video call communications with Anmol Bishnoi, Lawrence Bishnoi's brother, further connecting him to the gang leader.

The suspects had been tracking Siddique for several months, conducting surveillance on both his home and office, according to police.

Police revealed that each suspect received an advance payment of Rs 50,000 for the assassination, and were provided the firearms just days before the killing.

The two arrested suspects are currently in police custody, while the search for the remaining accused continues.

Meanwhile, Mumbai Police have also increased security around Salman Khan's residence, where a previous shooting incident occurred.

On the night of April 14, gunfire shook Mumbai's Bandra neighbourhood when two men on motorbikes fired multiple rounds outside Salman Khan's residence.

The attackers, linked to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, were charged with conspiracy to murder and other serious crimes.

Support Our Journalism

We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism

IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.

Support objective journalism for a small contribution.