Former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique was shot under the cover of a Dussehra procession and fireworks. The 66-year-old was killed on Saturday evening, around 9.30 pm, as he left his son, MLA Zeeshan Siddique's office in Mumbai's Bandra East. The Lawrence Bishnoi gang has taken responsibility for the shooting.
A reconstruction of the killing made it clear how the shooters took advantage of the confusion and noise during the procession.
The four killers had apparently stationed themselves close to Siddique's waiting car. As he came and tried to get inside, they let off some device that covered the area in thick smoke. Many thought it was the smoke from the firecrackers, which also masked the noise of gunshots.
Siddique was shot four times, on his chest and stomach. One of his aides also sustained gunshot wounds.
The Lawrence Bishnoi gang has claimed responsibility for the murder, for which they had apparently put out a Rs 2 lakh contract.
They have also warned that anyone who helps actor Salman Khan — near whose house it has already fired warning shots — will be targetted. Siddique was known for hosting lavish parties and a five-year-long cold war between Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan was resolved at his Iftaar party in 2013.
Three persons have been arrested for the murder, two of them are the shooters and the third a conspirator, the officers of Mumbai police have said.
Baba Siddique was killed by three shooters. Among them, Gurmel Singh is a resident of village Narad in Kaithal district in Haryana. The other two are residents of Bahraich district of Uttar Pradesh. Gurmel and the second shooter, who claims to be a minor, have been arrested. The third shooter, Shiv Kumar, is on the run.
The last man to be arrested was Praveen, 28, who was caught in Pune. He is a conspirator and also the one who, in a Facebook post, issued a warning to those who helped actor Salman Khan, the police have said.
