Mumbai: Zeeshan Siddique, son of the murdered Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Baba Siddique, has taken to social media to demand accountability for his father's death. "My father lost his life protecting and saving the lives and homes of poor innocent people," Zeeshan wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “Today, my family is broken but his death must not be politicised and definitely not go in vain. I NEED JUSTICE, MY FAMILY NEEDS JUSTICE!”
The Mumbai police has disclosed that Zeeshan Siddique, Baba's son and a Congress MLA, was also on the radar of the three shooters. "Zeeshan Siddique had received threats a few days before the incident took place. The accused told during interrogation that both Zeeshan and Baba Siddique were on the target and they were ordered to fire on anyone they found," a Mumbai Police spokesperson told ANI.
Baba Siddique, a former Maharashtra minister, was gunned down on a Mumbai street on October 12, between 9:15 pm and 9:30 pm. The attack occurred shortly after Siddique left his son Zeeshan's office in Bandra (East), where they had been meeting with political supporters to discuss plans for upcoming assembly elections.
According to police reports, Siddique had walked about 50 meters from the office to his parked car at the Kherwadi junction when three men arrived in an autorickshaw. One of the assailants, identified as Shivkumar Gautam, allegedly fired six bullets at Siddique. Three bullets struck the politician, while two hit his car. A sixth bullet injured a nearby pedestrian.
Less than 24 hours after the incident, the Mumbai police made significant progress in their investigation. Three main accused have been arrested – two of the three shooters and the brother of the alleged main conspirator.
The arrested shooters, identified as Dharmaraj Radhe Kashyap and Gurmail Singh, have reportedly provided crucial information during interrogation. Police say their investigation has revealed that members of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang carried out the murder, though the motive remains unclear.
According to senior police officers, the main conspirator is an alleged operative of the Bishnoi gang named Shubham Remeshwar Lonkar, alias Shubuu. Lonkar allegedly hatched the plan a month ago in Pune, sending two shooters – Dharmaraj Kashyap and Shiv Kumar Gautam – to Mumbai to carry out the assassination.
The third shooter, Gurmail Singh, a key Bishnoi gang member recently released on bail from a Haryana jail, was dispatched to Mumbai by Lonkar just days before the attack. The three were provided rented accommodation in Kurla (West) and had reportedly conducted reconnaissance for several days before the murder.
Source: Hindustan Times