Baba Siddique murder: Accused recced NCP leader's house, 28 live rounds recovered | 10 points
The accused fired six rounds, of which three hit Baba Siddique, DCP Crime Branch Datta Nalawade said.
Baba Siddique, the 66-year-old seasoned politician from Ajit Pawar-led National Congress Party (NCP) was shot dead outside his son's office in Mumbai's Bandra on Saturday. Two of the shooters were arrested on the spot and were sent to police custody till October 21.
The Mumbai police are also looking into the possibility of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi's involvement in the murder after one of his gang members claimed responsibility for the attack in a viral social media post.
Baba Siddique News Live: 'Probing Lawrence Bishnoi's role in murder,' says Mumbai Police
Interestingly, Siddique's alleged pre-planned murder was carried out on a busy Dussehra night when two of Maharashtra's most popular political figures - CM Eknath Shinde and Uddhav Thackeray addressed their respective Vijayadashami rallies, prompting high-security alert in the city.
Here's a 10-point cheat sheet on the chilling Baba Siddique murder case:
1- The attack was carried out by three accused, who received their weapons 15 days before the shooting through a human courier.
2- Two pistols and 28 rounds have been recovered from the accused. They fired six rounds at the NCP leader, of which three hit Baba, DCP Crime Branch Datta Nalawade said.
3- A holiday court on Sunday remanded the two shooters, arrested for firing at Baba Siddique, to police custody until October 21. The arrested accused have been identified as Gurmail Singh and Dharamraj Kashyap.
READ | Salman Khan visits Baba Siddique's residence to pay condolences to the politician's family
4- According to media reports, the shooters involved in the attack were allegedly staying in a rented house in Mumbai's Kurla for ₹14,000 per month. They were also paid ₹50,000 each for the crime.
5- The accused, who had been in Mumbai for the past 25-30 days, recced the shooting spot as well as Siddique's home and office well in advance, NDTV reported quoting the sources.
6- The police have agreed to conduct an ossification test on one of the accused --Dharamraj Kashyap to determine his age after he claimed that he is a minor.
7- The three accused reached the shooting spot in an auto rickshaw and waited for a while before firing at Siddique, media reports suggested.
8- A forensic team visited the crime scene to gather evidence, including reviewing CCTV footage.
9- According to the police, Siddique had received a threat to his life 15 days ago, after which his security was upgraded to the Y category. In, fact, one police constable was guarding former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique when he was fatally shot
10 -Maharashtra DCP of the Crime Branch Datta Nalawade on Sunday said that 15 teams from the Crime Branch are currently working on the case.
Salman Khan pays condolences to Baba Siddique
Bollywood actor Salman Khan, a close friend of deceased NCP leader visited his house and paid condolences to politician Baba Siddique. In pictures and videos captured outside Baba's residence, the actor looked bereaved as he visited the family on Sunday evening after his death on Saturday.
Salman's family – brother Sohail and Arbaaz Khan along with sister Alvira, also paid their respect to the deceased leader on Sunday.