Nearly two days after the murder of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique, the Mumbai Police are trying to unearth the conspiracy behind the act and identify the mastermind in the case.
According to top sources with the Mumbai Police, the cops have not ruled out the involvement of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi in the case. However, they were probing the case from all angles.
Sources also said the police believed the name of Lawrence Bishnoi could be a “deflection” to divert the attention from the mastermind in the case.
The cops were also trying to ascertain the motive behind Baba Siddique’s murder.
BABA SIDDIQUE MURDERED: WHO ALL ARE ARRESTED, HOW WAS THE ACT PLANNED
Three people – Dharmaraj Rajesh Kashyap, Gurmail Baljit Singh, and Pravin Lonkar, have been arrested in connection with Siddique’s murder case. However, Shivkumar Gautam, the person who fired shots, remains absconding and apparently holds the key to who gave out the orders to kill Siddique.
The three accused – Dharmaraj, Gurmail Singh, and Shivkumar, were at the venue to shoot Baba Siddique. Shivkumar was the one who led the two others to fire shots at Siddique.
According to the group’s plan, Dharmaraj and Gurmail were supposed to fire shots at the NCP leader. However, Shivkumar changed the plan and fired shots himself, after he saw the presence of a heavy police force around Siddique.
He had also ordered Dharmaraj and Gurmail to fire and flee.
During the attack, Shivkumar fired six rounds at Siddique, out of which two hit him.
Soon after, the three ran to escape arrest. While Dharmaraj and Gurmail were caught, Shivkumar, who hid in the crowd, threw chilli powder in the eyes of some police personnel in Siddiqui’s safety and fled.
He remains absconding.
During investigations, it was revealed that Dharmaraj and Gurmail had not fired shots with the pistols they carried and that all shots were fired by Shivkumar.
It was also revealed that the two also kept chilli powder with them.
SHIVKUMAR COULD HAVE KEY INFO
Dharmaraj and Gurmail told the police that did not have information on who gave the orders to shoot Siddique.
Meanwhile, the police are on the lookout for Shivkumar, who remains the only person to have information about the orders.
Sixty-six-year-old Siddique, a former Maharashtra minister who joined the Ajit Pawar-led NCP in February this year after quitting the Congress, was waylaid by three men at Kher Nagar in Mumbai’s Bandra area just outside his MLA son Zeeshan Siddique’s office and shot dead on the night of October 12.
WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT SHIVKUMAR GAUTAM
Twenty-three-year-old Shivkumar Gautam hails from Gandara village in Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh. He was engaged in a scrap trading business and was reportedly earning well.
His family said he was distanced from him over the years.
“Initially, he used to talk to me over the phone, but then he stopped. He never sent us any money,” Shivkumar’s mother said, recalling their strained relationship.
It was only when his sister fell seriously ill a few months ago that Shivkumar sent them Rs 3,000 on much insistence.
“When I asked him why he never talks to us, he told me not to call him anymore and that he would call whenever he felt like,” his mother added.
Shivkumar’s father, Balkrishna Kumar, believes his son was misled.
“My son cannot commit a murder. However, if proven guilty, he should be treated like a murderer,” he said.
WHO IS PRAVIN LONKAR?
Twenty-eight-year-old Praving Lonkar was arrested by the police from Pune on Sunday night. According to the police, Lonkar, along with his brother, Shubham Lonkar, had “enlisted” Dharmaraj and Shivkumar in the plot.
It was also revealed that Lonkar had sheltered the other three accused in Pune.
The police referred to Lonkar as a “co-conspirator”, and said they were also on the lookout for his brother.
An official told news agency PTI that the police went to Pune looking for Shubham Lonkar but did not find him there. They then nabbed his brother Pravin for his alleged involvement in the crime.
The Mumbai police were also verifying a social media post, attributed to a purported member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, owning up to the murder of Siddique.
According to the details, the particular post was put out by one of the Lonkar brothers. However, there was no official confirmation on the same yet.
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