Key shooter fired 6 rounds, 3 of which struck Baba Siddique: STF

After changing his T-shirt and disposing of the pistol used in the crime, Shiv Kumar, 25, roamed around the crime scene for an hour and a half, say officials

LUCKNOW Shiv Kumar Gautam, 25, one of the three assailants in NCP leader Baba Siddique murder case in Mumbai on October 12, revealed during interrogation that he loitered around the crime scene after changing his T-shirt and disposing of the pistol used in the crime. The STF had arrested him, along with his four associates, from Nanpara, Bahraich on Sunday when they were travelling to cross over the porous India-Nepal border to evade arrest.

The primary motive behind the murder was to spread terror and extort money from Bollywood and Mumbai. Anmol Bishnoi, Lawrence Bishnoi’s brother, instructed Shiv Kumar to kill Baba Siddique’s son Zeeshan, if Baba was unreachable, said STF officials. (Pic for representation)

A senior STF official informed that Shiv Kumar shot Baba Siddiqui six times and roamed around the crime scene for an hour and a half after the killing. He said the accused changed his T-shirt so that he could not be identified after throwing the pistol nearby. The accused was grilled by the STF and Mumbai Special Crime Branch, said police officials on Monday.

Two other assailants, including another Bahraich resident Dharamraj, were arrested from the spot. Shiv alone fired the six shots, three of which hit Baba Siddique, said the officer.

The primary motive behind the murder was to spread terror and extort money from Bollywood and Mumbai. Anmol Bishnoi, Lawrence Bishnoi’s brother, instructed Shiv Kumar to kill Baba Siddique’s son Zeeshan, if Baba was unreachable, said STF officials.

The official said ₹10 lakh for the contract killing was to be paid in two installments - first at Ujjain’s Mahakal Temple and the second at Vaishno Devi, after the execution of the crime. Shiv Kumar received ₹15-20,000 before the murder and used it during his escape, he said.

The accused’s hideout was arranged in Nepal’s Shamsheerganj, but he was arrested before reaching there. No criminal cases were found against Shiv Kumar but his criminal history was being verified in Mumbai, Pune, and Bahraich.

Notably, Shiv Kumar’s four accomplices - Anurag Kashyap, Gyan Prakash Tripathi, Akash Shrivastava, and Akhilendra Pratap Singh, who were nabbed on Sunday, were arrested for molestation in July 2024 and were out on bail.