Weapons used to kill Siddique came from north Rajasthan: Cops
Mumbai police linked three weapons used in NCP leader Baba Siddique's murder to the India-Pakistan border, involving a network of accused.
Mumbai: All the three weapons used for killing Congress-turned-NCP leader Baba Siddique on October 12 in Bandra, reached the city from the India-Pakistan border in north Rajasthan, according to Mumbai police crime branch officials.
The firearms comprised a Turkey-made Zigana, Australian Glock and a country-made pistol. The police sources said the weapons were brought to the city by one of the five accused recently arrested by the police.
The crime branch after the arrest of the first four accused, including the two shooters on Friday had arrested Nitin Gautam Sapre 35, Sambhaji Kisan Pardhi 44, Pradeep Dattu Thombre 37, Chetan Dilip Pardhi, 27, and Ram Fulchand Kanojia 43. Sapre is from Dombivali, while Pardhi, Thombre and Pardhi are from Ambernath in Thane district. Kanojia is a resident of Panvel in Raigad.
“When the police questioned the accused, it was learnt that Sapre is a history sheeter and has several cases against him. Sapre, Chetan Pradhi and Sambhaji Pardhi had killed Somnath Pardhi in 2015 in Ambernath and they had come out on bail from Kalyan’s Atharwadi jail in 2017. In jail they meet Ram Kanojia who was lodged there in an attempted murder case,” said the police officer.
The police said Sapre was in touch with Lawrence Bishnoi gang members and came in touch with key accused Shubham Lonkar and Mohammad Zeeshan Akthar who is based in Jalandhar in Punjab.
“The killing contract first came to the five accused Sapre asked Kanojia to work on it however Kanojia being local after hearing Baba Siddiqui’s name came to know the impact would be great, so he started demanding ₹50 lakh to eliminate Siddique,” said a police officer.
Sapre then with the help of Shubham Lonkar decided to hire North India-based shooters and chipped in Gurmail Singh, Dharmaraj Kashyap and Shivkumar Gautam, who is wanted in the case. Mohammed Zeeshan provided them Gurmail who was already in trouble as his family had asked him to leave the house.
However, Lonkar and Zeeshan knew the shooters could require local help, so they asked Sapre and Kanojia to carry out recce, provide them shelter and also arrange and hand them the weapons.
“Kanojia went to North Rajasthan to pick up the weapons which were used in the crime. We suspect they might have come from India-Pakistan border towns or even out of India,” said a police officer.
Kanojia works at the site of a builder in Panvel.
The accused last five have got ₹5 lakhs in their bank accounts. “We are inquiring who has arranged the weapons for them to pick up in Rajasthan and also who sent money to them which has been sent via cash and even bank transfers,” said the police officer.
The police said they had arranged for the shooter’s shelter and they stayed in Karjat in August.