Mumbai Police, investigating the murder of former minister and NCP leader Baba Siddiqui, have arrested two men who allegedly opened a barrage of fire on him.
The two shooters have claimed affiliation with the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, which has previously issued threats to Bollywood actor Salman Khan.
Police identified the alleged killers as Gurmail Baljit Singh (23) from Haryana and Dharmaraj Rajesh Kashyap (19) from Uttar Pradesh, while the third accused Pravin Lonkar (29) has been arrested from Pune.
Pravin's brother, Shubham, had posted on social media claiming responsibility for the murder on behalf of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, but later deleted the post.
He is also believed to be one of the key conspirators who, enlisted Dharmaraj Kashyap and Shivkumar Gautam, the absconding shooter in the plot.
The assailants on Saturday stepped out of a vehicle and taking advantage of the firecracker noise, shot at NCP leader Baba Siddique. He was immediately taken to Lilavati Hospital, where he later died from his injuries.
Police said that Gurmail has a criminal history, having been arrested in a murder case in 2019 but later released on bail. His family claimed they disowned him 11 years ago.
{{/usCountry}}Police said that Gurmail has a criminal history, having been arrested in a murder case in 2019 but later released on bail. His family claimed they disowned him 11 years ago.
{{/usCountry}}“His parents have died. He is nothing to us now,” Gurmail's grandmother told reporters. She added that Gurmail was released on bail three months ago but did not return home.
Dharamraj Kashyap is from Bahraich in Uttar Pradesh. His mother, speaking to ANI from their home, expressed her shock at the allegations against him. She said that he left home two months ago to work at a scrapyard in Pune.
Bahraich superintendent of police (SP) Vrinda Shukla confirmed over the phone to HT that Dharam Raj Kashyap and Shiv Kumar Gautam alias Shiva, whose involvement had surfaced in the high-profile murder, are residents of Gandara village under Kaiserganj police station limits of Bahraich district.
Shiv Kumar and Dharam Raj Kashyap were neighbours and childhood friends, this official added, quoting Shiv Kumar’s family. Shiv Kumar and Dharam Raj met whenever Shiva visited the village and recently, he took Dharam Raj with him to provide work in Pune two months ago.
Since then, their family members had no information about their whereabouts.
The Mumbai Police have identified six individuals connected to the murder of Baba Siddique. Three suspects are currently in custody, while police continue to search for the others.
The plan to kill Siddique was formed in a Patiala jail with the help of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, and Mohammad Zeeshan Akhtar has been named as a key player in plotting the assassination, India Today reported.