New information is coming to light every day in the murder case of former Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Baba Siddiqui. It has now emerged that before killing Baba Siddiqui, attackers on bicycles conducted a reconnaissance of his house. Not only that, the police also found a bag not far from the scene in which the Aadhaar card of one of the accused was found.
Police investigations so far suggest the gunmen were using the bike to scout Baba Siddiqui’s house. He had fallen off his bike a few days ago, so he had reached there in a rickshaw on the day of the incident. Accused Praveen Lonkar paid Rs 60,000 to Harish Balkram Nishad for the bicycle. Bought an old bicycle from Pune for Rs 32,000. The investigation also revealed that the gunman waited for Baba Siddiqui at the scene for 45 minutes.
Police have so far arrested four accused in the Baba Siddiqui murder case. UP residents Dharamraj Kashyap and Harish Kumar Nishad, Haryana resident Gurmail Singh and Pune resident Praveen Lonkar have been arrested. Gumail and Dharamraj were accused of shooting at Baba Siddiqui. Baba Siddiqui was murdered on 12 October. The Lawrence Bishnoi gang has taken responsibility for the murder.
The three accused in the case – Mohammad Jaising Akhtar, Shubham Lonkar and Shivkumar Gautam – are still absconding. Jaising Akhtar is believed to be the mastermind of the murder. Mumbai Police has formed multiple teams to hunt down the absconding accused. The teams are conducting investigations in many states, including Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana.
Turkish made pistol shooting
A bag was found about 250 meters from where Baba Siddiqui was shot dead. The bag also contained a Turkish-made 7.62 mm automatic pistol. It is believed that Baba Siddiqui may have been shot dead with this pistol.
The Lawrence Bishnoi gang also murdered Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala in May 2022 using a Turkish-made pistol. Police revealed that the pistol used by Bishnoi gang members to fire at Salman Khan’s farmhouse also came from Türkiye.
Police said the bag found not far from the spot contained Shivkumar Gautam’s Aadhar card, receipts for purchasing a bicycle and a shirt. It was revealed that the two accused – Dharamraj and Gumail changed their shirts after committing the crime. Therefore, it is suspected that Shivkumar also changed his shirt and then abandoned his bag and fled from there.
Learned to shoot by watching YouTube
Harish Kumar Nishad and Dharamraj Kashyap also hail from the same village where Shivkumar Gautam lives. The crime branch said that during interrogation of the accused, it was found that Shivkumar Gautam learned to fire a weapon during a celebration at a wedding in Uttar Pradesh. Gautam was hired as the “master shooter” because he knew how to use a gun.
Police said Gautam trained Kashyap and Gurmail Singh in the use of firearms at a rented house in Korla. The attackers learned how to reload by watching YouTube videos for about four weeks.
On Tuesday, the Crime Branch team visited the rented house of the accused in Korla. Police said the bicycle and two helmets used in the reconnaissance of Baba Siddiqui’s house and office have been confiscated.
It is also reported that Gurmail Singh was promised to help him escape from India on a fake passport as there was an unsolved murder case against him in India.
Shubham was interrogated twice
Police also interrogated Shubham Lonkar, an accused involved in the murder, twice this year. Shubham Lonkar and Praveen Lonkar are brothers who run a dairy shop in Pune.
A police officer told news agency PTI that Shubham was arrested in January this year in an Arms Act case. He then told Lawrence during interrogation that he was in touch with Bishnoi’s brother, Anmol Bishnoi.
Later, Shubham was also questioned over the shooting outside Salman Khan’s house. He then told Bishnoi that the gang was allegedly involved in the incident. Police said Shubham disappeared on September 24 despite being on police radar after being released on bail. He told CNN that to avoid police surveillance, Shubham and the other defendants used social media applications such as Instagram and Snapchat.
