Who is Zeeshan Akhtar? Key conspirator in Baba Siddique murder case 'arrested' in Canada

Maharashtra minister confirmed the arrest of Zeeshan Akhtar in Canada. Authorities are taking steps to bring him back to India for interrogation.

Zeeshan Akhtar, an alleged key conspirator in the murder of Nationalist Congress Party leader Baba Siddique, has been “arrested” in Canada, Maharashtra minister of state for home Yogesh Kadam said on Wednesday.

Gangster Lawrence Bishnoi's brother Anmol Bishnoi had given a contract to Zeeshan Akhtar (left in pic) and Shubham Lonkar to carry out the NCP leader Baba Siddique's murder.

Zeeshan Akhtar 22, was reportedly held in a fake passport case. 

"Zeeshan, who was involved in the Baba Siddique murder case, has been arrested in Canada. We have initiated the process to bring him back to India. We will interrogate him further (after bringing him back)," Yogesh Kadam told the media. 

Baba Siddique, a former Maharashtra minister, was shot dead in Bandra area in Mumbai on October 12, 2024. Police have arrested at least 25 persons in the case so far.

Who is Zeeshan Akhtar?

• The Mumbai Police said jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi's brother Anmol Bishnoi had given a contract to Zeeshan Akhtar and Shubham Lonkar to carry out the NCP leader's murder. 
• The Punjab Police had named Akhtar as a key conspirator behind the grenade attack on senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former state minister Manoranjan Kalia’s house in the wee hours on April 7. No one was injured in the attack.
• Punjab Police special director general of police Arpit Shukla had named Akhtar as the key accused.
• He was also booked for a grenade attack on YouTuber Rozer Sandhu’s house on March 16. However, the grenade didn’t explode.
• The crime branch of the Mumbai Police began an investigation into a video of Zeeshan Akhtar in February, in which he claimed to have secured asylum in a foreign country with the help of Pakistani gangster Shehzad Bhatti.
• In the video, he also said that Bhatti, whom he called his “elder brother”, had helped him secure asylum in an unknown country, outside Asia. Police confirmed that the person seen in the video, which was circulated widely online, is indeed Zeeshan Akhtar but were investigating other details.