Three days after former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique was shot dead outside the office of his son, MLA Zeeshan Siddique, in Bandra East, a video has emerged showing one of the shooters being arrested.
Mr Siddique was killed around 9.30 pm on Saturday and two of the shooters, Gurmail Baljit Singh from Haryana and Dharamraj Kashyap from Uttar Pradesh, were arrested soon after while Shiv Kumar Gautam, who is also from Uttar Pradesh, is on the run.
The video shows Kashyap being pulled by three policemen as he raises one of his hands and puts it behind his head. He is then asked for his phone, which he hands over, and the policemen are seen holding his hands behind his back as they walk him down a path.
The cops are also heard discussing a bag found on one of the shooters and someone says it is with sir, indicating that a senior police official had it. On Tuesday, police sources said, another pistol was recovered from a bag thrown by one of the shooters. The bag was found some distance from the crime scene.
Witnesses told NDTV that the crowd that had gathered around Mr Siddique during the Dussehra celebrations had helped the police apprehend the shooters.
Shooter's Claim
On Sunday, Kashyap had claimed in a Mumbai court that his age was 17 despite his Aadhar card stating that he was 19, and a bone ossification test had been ordered. On Monday, the results of the test proved that he is not a minor.
Sources said the suspects have claimed that they work for gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, who is lodged in Gujarat's Sabarmati jail, and the same claim was made in a social media post on Sunday. The Facebook post was made on the handle of one Shubuu Lonkar, believed to be Bishnoi gang associate Shubham Rameshwar Lonkar, claiming responsibility for the murder.
Police said the post was made by Lonkar's brother, Pravin, who was arrested on Sunday evening.
Officials from the Mumbai Police said that, apart from writing the post, in which a warning had also been issued to those who "help Salman Khan", he was a conspirator in the killing. Pravin and Shubham, officials said, were the ones who had enlisted Kashyap and Gautam in the plot.
Security has been tightened around Salman Khan's house in Bandra, Galaxy Apartments, outside which shooters linked to the Bishnoi gang had fired in April. Security has also been increased at his farmhouse in Panvel near Mumbai.
