Baba Siddique's son hints at ‘deceit’ in father's murder: ‘A lion killed by jackals’

NCP member Baba Siddique was shot dead in Mumbai on October 12.

Days after Maharashtra politician Baba Siddique was shot dead, his son, Congress MLA Zeeshan Siddique, in a cryptic post on X, remembered him as a ‘lion’ killed by ‘jackals’ through ‘deceit.’

MLA Zeeshan Siddiqui's photo was found on the phone of one of the shooters who killed his father Baba Siddique

“The cowardly often try to scare the brave, even jackals kill a lion by deceit,” Zeeshan's social media post, made in Hindi on Saturday evening, read.

Siddique, a member of Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar's NCP, was attacked outside the office of Zeeshan in Mumbai's Bandra on October 12. The criminal gang led by jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, is suspected to be behind the fatal shooting.

The slain politician, who turned 66 last month, joined NCP from Congress in February and was accorded a state funeral due to his status as a former minister. He was known for his ‘iftaar’ parties, attended by several A-listers of Bollywood, including Salman Khan.

Many believe Siddique's friendship with the Bollywood star could have played a part in the former's killing. Khan was among those from the Hindi film industry who attended the NCP member's last rites.

Meanwhile, the Mumbai Police arrested five more people in connection with the murder on Friday, taking the total number of arrests in the case to nine. Two of the three assailants had already been arrested.

Also, a photo of Zeeshan, the Congress legislator from the Vandre East assembly constituency, was recovered from the phone of one of the shooters. This backed what police found earlier during their investigation: Zeeshan Siddique was a target too.