Baba Siddique murder suspect held in Ludhiana; 15 caught so far
The arrested Sujit Kumar Singh is said to have been linked with absconding Zeeshan Akhtar, one of the alleged masterminds of the killing.
The Mumbai police crime branch, in association with the Ludhiana crime investigation agency (CIA) staff 2 and counter-intelligence wing, on Friday arrested a suspect in connection with the murder of NCP leader Baba Siddique. Identified as Sujit Kumar Singh, 33, a resident of Masjid Galli, Kamraj Nagar, Ghatkopar, Mumbai, he is the 15th suspect to be arrested in this case. He is said to have been linked with absconding Zeeshan Akhtar, one of the alleged masterminds of the killing.
Inspector Rajesh Kumar, in-charge, CIA staff 2, said the police arrested him from Mundian at Bhamian Road in Jamalpur where he had been hiding at his in-laws’ residence. Additional deputy commissioner of police (ADCP, investigation) Amandeep Singh Brar said Inspector Sham Nair and his Mumbai crime branch team collaborated with Ludhiana’s counter-intelligence officers, inspectors Kailash and Vikramjeet besides CIA-2 personnel to apprehend the suspect.
According to the Mumbai Police, the accused allegedly transferred ₹25,000 to Nitin, another suspect in the case, and provided logistical support. After the murder, Singh fled Mumbai and sought refuge in Ludhiana where his wife and in-laws reside. He was handed over to the Mumbai crime branch for further investigation, said ADCP Brar.
In the hierarchy of the conspirators, Sujit was above Nitin Sapre and Ram Kanoujia (both arrested), an official said, adding that Sujit and Akhtar took instructions from above and passed them to Sapre and Kanoujia. Crime branch officials also traced his financial transactions with Kanoujia and Sapre. The money was given to the alleged shooters and others involved in the crime, he added. The masterminds used different people to provide money to the members of different “modules” of shooters hired for the killing of the NCP leader, the official said.
Former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique (66) was shot dead by three gunmen near his MLA son Zeeshan Siddique’s office in Mumbai’s Bandra area on October 12.
Meanwhile, a pistol and three bullets were recovered from Ram Kanoujia’s rented house in Palaspe area of Panvel town in neighbouring Raigad district, the crime branch official said. Kanoujia (43), arrested last week, was part of the group that allegedly provided firearms and logistical support to the shooters. A court here on Friday extended till October 26 the police remand of nine accused persons. While police sought the extension of remand by three days, the court extended it by one day.
The nine accused produced before the court were Gurnail Baljit Singh (23), Dharmaraj Kashyap (21), Harish Kumar Nisad (26), Pravin Lonkar (30), Nitin Gautam Sapre (32), Sambhaji Kisan Pardhi (44), Pradeep Dattu Thombre (37), Chetan Dilip Pardhi and Ram Fulchand Kanoujia (43).
As per police, Haryana resident Gurmail Singh and Uttar Pradesh native Kashyap along with wanted accused Shivkumar Gautam shot Siddique. Shubham Lonkar and Mohammed Zeeshan Akhtar too are wanted in the case. Shubham, who has links with the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, allegedly hatched the murder conspiracy with the other wanted accused. (With PTI inputs)