Police said a pistol was found inside a black bag close to the crime scene. The weapon was recovered only 100 metres from the spot where the shooting took place
The Mumbai Police on Tuesday made its fourth arrest in the ongoing probe into the Baba Siddique murder case. A 23-year-old scrap dealer from Pune was detained in Uttar Pradesh’s Bahraich by the crime branch, police said.
Police identified the fourth accused as Harishkumar Balakram, who is a resident of Bahraich. He was part of the conspiracy, and supplied money as well as took care of other logistics, police said.
A pistol was found inside a black bag close to the crime scene by the Nirmal Nagar police station. The weapon was recovered only 100 metres from the spot where the shooting took place, police said.
This was done based on the intelligence provided by the accused who have been arrested in the case. They said they threw a bag close to the crime scene, when they tried to flee from the spot.
Police had earlier arrested Haryana resident Gurmail Baljit Singh (23), Uttar Pradesh native Dharmaraj Rajesh Kashyap (19), both alleged shooters, and “co-conspirator” Pravin Lonkar from Pune. Another suspected shooter Shivkumar Gautam, who hails from Bahraich, is on the run.
NCP leader Siddique, 66, was waylaid by three persons in Mumbai’s Nirmal Nagar area, just outside MLA and son Zeeshan Siddique’s office, and shot at on the night of October 12. Six rounds were fired on him, two of which hit his chest. He was rushed to the Lilavati Hospital where he was declared dead.
Cops hunt for third shooter who flaunted ‘gangster’ status
Police have scoured places of worship in Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain and Khandwa in their hunt for the third shooter wanted in connection with the killing of Siddique.
Shivkumar Gautam, who also hails from Bahraich and is on the run, had posted online content in recent months, flaunting his “gangster” status. “Yaar tera gangster hai jaani (your friend is a gangster)”, Gautam had captioned his photo post on his Instagram on July 24.
It showed him on a motorcycle as a Haryanvi song played in the background. He hails from Gandara village in Bahraich district, where local residents and police said he had no criminal history. They said he had gone to work at a scrap shop in Pune.
An Instagram post by him on July 8 was captioned “Sharif baap hai # (expletives) hum nahin”. On May 26, he posted a brief video of a city skyline along with background music from “KGF”, a film about a mercenary, with its dialogue “powerful people make places powerful”.
According to officials, joint teams are focusing on places of worship in Ujjain and Khandwa districts in search of Gautam. A senior police official in MP’s Khandwa district said the shooters arrested by the Mumbai Police have told their interrogators that they had visited some places of worship.
There was a possibility that the accused, while on the run, may visit these places again, the official said. Asked about these two districts having jyotirlingas and if the accused may be a devotee, the official said he will not offer a comment.
The official further noted that Khandwa shares a border with Maharashtra, adding that “we have received no inputs about his whereabouts”.
Ujjain and Khandwa are famous for the Mahakal and Omkareshwar temples, which attract thousands of people every day. A Mumbai Police team reached MP on October 13, a day after Siddique was shot dead.
A top Ujjain police official said the team from Mumbai was still in the district. They have not been able to find any leads so far, he added.
Suspected handler also wanted
Suspected “handler” Mohammad Yasin Akhtar is also wanted in the case. The Punjab Police said he is a resident of Shankar village in Jalandhar district and is facing nine heinous criminal cases, including for murder and attempt to murder.
Akhtar was arrested in a criminal case in June 2022 and has not visited his village after he was released in June 2024, police said. He is suspected to have links with gangster Vikram Brar.
The third accused in the case – Pravin Lonkar – was produced in a Mumbai court that remanded him in police custody till October 21. He is accused of “enlisting” two of the three alleged shooters who opened fire at Siddique.
Police said Pravin’s brother Shubham Lonkar, who is yet to be apprehended, is allegedly associated with jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi. The prosecution claimed Shubham and other wanted accused had conspired the shooting and supplied arms to the gunmen who attacked the politician.
Pravin has to be taken to Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar for further probe and, hence, his custody was required, police told court.
(With PTI inputs)
