Lagatar24 Desk
Mumbai: In a shocking development, the two suspects arrested in connection with the murder of former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique have claimed affiliation with the notorious Lawrence Bishnoi gang, according to sources. While the Mumbai Police have not yet verified this claim, the gang has yet to publicly admit responsibility for the killing. The high-profile murder has raised serious security concerns as Maharashtra prepares for state elections.
Baba Siddique, a 66-year-old prominent politician from the Ajit Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party and a three-time former MLA from Bandra West, was gunned down in Bandra last night. Police officials suspect the killing was a contract hit, and four special teams have been formed to investigate the case. The shooting, which coincided with the Dussehra festivities, has sent shockwaves through the political and public spheres.
The incident occurred when three men ambushed Mr. Siddique near his son’s office, firing at least six bullets, four of which struck him in the chest. Two suspects, Gurmail Baljit Singh (23) from Haryana and Dharamraj Kashyap (19) from Uttar Pradesh, have been apprehended, while the third suspect remains at large. According to police sources, it is believed that an individual may have been providing the attackers with real-time information on Mr. Siddique’s location.
During interrogation by the Mumbai Police Crime Branch, the arrested suspects revealed that they had conducted surveillance in the Bandra East area for nearly a month before carrying out the murder. On the night of the attack, the three suspects arrived at the scene in an auto-rickshaw and waited before launching the deadly assault.
Police are currently investigating two primary angles in the case. One is the possibility of the involvement of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, given Mr. Siddique’s proximity to Bollywood star Salman Khan, who has been on Bishnoi’s “target list” over the actor’s infamous 1998 black buck poaching case. The second angle involves a potential connection to a slum rehabilitation case in which Mr. Siddique was involved.
Sources close to Mr. Siddique claim that he received a death threat just 15 days before the attack, prompting the government to provide him with ‘Y’ category security. However, the politician did not report any threats from the Bishnoi gang prior to his death, according to the police.
The case has now attracted the attention of central agencies, with law enforcement officials from Gujarat and Delhi also working in coordination with the Mumbai Police to probe deeper into the matter. Lawrence Bishnoi, who is currently incarcerated in Gujarat, has gained notoriety for his gang’s involvement in numerous high-profile murders and extortion cases across India, including the killing of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala.
Bishnoi’s gang, which is said to include over 700 shooters, has been linked to a series of violent incidents, and police sources believe that many small-time and high-profile criminals across the country operate under his command. While investigations continue, the murder of Baba Siddique has left many questioning the state of security in Maharashtra as elections loom.
