Bone ossification test proves Siddique’s shooter is over 18: Mumbai Police

The shooter was then taken to magistrate’s office at midnight on Monday before being sent to police custody till October 21

Mumbai: A Metropolitan Magistrate on Sunday remanded one of the alleged shooters in the Baba Siddique murder case to police custody till October 21. The other alleged shooter who claimed to be a minor was proven to be a major after a bone ossification test was conducted on him. The court had previously instructed the police not to question him till it is determined whether or not he is a minor; after the results, he is now sent to police custody till October 21.

Police personnel escort the two accused to be produced at Esplanade Court in connection with the killing of NCP leader Baba Siddique, in Mumbai on Sunday. (ANI)

While magistrate Suyojit Tayade sent the accused Gurmail Singh, 23, who hails from Haryana, to police custody till October 21, he directed the Mumbai Crime Branch to get a bone ossification test conducted on Dharmaraj Radhe Kashyap who hails from Bahraich in Uttar Pradesh, to determine his age.

Kashyap claimed before the court that he is 17 years old and should therefore be tried as a minor. Public prosecutor Gautam Gaikwad contested this claim, stating that he is 19 years old, as stated by documents found with him.

During the proceedings, Gaikwad told the court that the murder was “planned in a film-style manner”. He said, “The incident has shocked the city. It is a very serious crime. A former minister has been killed, despite having a police bodyguard.”

He added, “It’s a well-planned conspiracy that involves people from other states and even foreign countries. They carried out a recce several times. We need to investigate who provided them weapons, who trained them, who provided them local logistics support. They have been trained to operate weapons. We suspect they wanted to kill more people and have recovered two pistols with magazines, 28 live cartridges and four mobile phones from the accused.”

Gaikwad told the court that there is a need to investigate whether there is a political angle to the killing. “The incident has happened just before the state assembly elections. We also need to check if they (the accused) are associated with any international gang. To investigate all these angles, we will need at least 14 days’ custody as teams will have to be sent to various locations.” The magistrate, however, turned down the request for 14 days custody.

Meanwhile, advocate Siddharth Agarwal, representing the accused, told the court that political rivalry must be considered as a potential motive, and the accused should not be falsely implicated in the case. “Nothing has been recovered from them directly. Minimum police custody should be given. As the court keeps monitoring the investigation, the truth will emerge,” Agarwal said.

On whether or not the accused, Dharmaraj Radhe Kashyap, is a minor, the court asked for his documents to be submitted. The Mumbai Crime Branch said they had found two Aadhaar cards with the accused – one matching the name he had given the police, and the other bearing another name. The former Aadhaar card named him as Dharmaraj Radhe Kashyap, age 19.

“If we are given police custody of the accused, we will get his documents like birth certificate, school leaving certificate to determine his age,” argued Gaikwad.

“The court had asked for the ossification test of one of the arrested accused, Dharmaraj Kashyap, as his lawyer had claimed that he was a minor. The test was conducted, and it was proved that he is not a minor. He was produced in the court and the court has granted police custody till October 21”, said a senior police officer.

The police also told the court that they were searching for two more accused, Shivkumar Gautam and Mohammad Zeeshan Akthar. They said they had registered a First Information Report (FIR) on the complaint of Shyam Sonawane, Siddique’s bodyguard. The accused have been charged section 103 (murder), and 109 (attempt to murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. They have also been charged under various sections of the Indian Arms Act.