Even as Maharashtra reels in shock following the murder of veteran politician Baba Siddique, the Mumbai police have arrested two accused while a third suspect is still on the run.
Siddique, who joined the Ajit Pawar-led NCP in February this year after quitting the Congress, was shot dead on Saturday night by three armed persons just outside his son's office in Mumbai's Bandra area.
“An offence has been registered and the investigation has been handed over to the Crime Branch. Two accused were detained on the spot. Two pistols and 28 live bullets have been recovered. We have the custody of the accused till October 21. We are investigating the Lawrence Bishnoi gang's role in the case,” DCP, Crime Branch Datta Nalawade said on Sunday.
Speculations about the involvement of Bishnoi gang in the crime was strengthened earlier in the day after a social media post, allegedly by a member of the group, claimed responsibility for the murder of Siddique and also cited the politician’s close relations with actor Salman Khan as one of the reasons for the killing.
Police said they are investigating the authenticity of the social media post.
“We are investigating all angles to this case including Salman Khan and Lawrence Bishnoi's angles," Nalawade said.
According to police, though Siddique didn’t have a categorised security, he had been assigned three police personnel and one of whom was there with him at the time of the shooting.
Nalawade said 15 teams of the Crime Branch are investigating the case, adding that two pistols have been recovered from both the accused. Mumbai Police has filed a case at Nirmal Nagar Police Station under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Arms Act and Maharashtra Police Act.
Accused sent to 7-day police custody
The duo arrested in the case have been identified as Gurmail Baljit Singh from Haryana and Dharamraj Kashyap from Uttar Pradesh. Police have launched a manhunt to nab the third accused, Shiv Kumar Gautam from UP.
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A Mumbai court has remanded Singh to Crime Branch custody till October 21 while directing an ossification test to determine the age of Kashyap after he claimed to be a minor.
Kashyap told the court that he’s 17 years old, but the police refuted his claim, saying they have recovered an Aadhaar card that showed his age as 21.
The Crime Branch had sought the remand of both the accused for 14 days, saying they needed to investigate if there was any international link involved. “The person killed was not any ordinary person, but a former minister. Despite security, the assailants managed to shoot him. We need to find out the intention and motive behind the crime,” the prosecution said, reported PTI.
The police also told the court that it wanted to probe if the case was a result of political rivalry since Maharashtra assembly elections are round the corner.