The Mumbai Police on Sunday apprehended one of the shooters of Maharastra NCP leader Baba Siddique from Uttar Pradesh's Bahraich. Shiv Kumar, who allegedly pulled the trigger on Siddique, was arrested from Nanpara while he was trying to escape to Nepal.
The accused has been absconding since the murder last month. The Crime Branch of the Mumbai team also arrested four others for sheltering him and assisting him to escape to Nepal. Police identified Shiv Kumar's aides as Anurag Kashyap, Gyan Prakash Tripathi, Akash Srivastava and Akhileshendra Pratap Singh.
There are also unconfirmed reports that Shiv Kumar confessed to having worked for Lawrence Bishnoi's gang. He reportedly told police that he acted on the instructions of Anmol Bishnoi, who is said to be in Canada.
The Mumbai police said the probe team has six officers and 15 personnel. Shiv Kumar and the other accused are being brought to Mumbai, the officials added.
The Crime Branch team reached Lucknow last month after learning that Shiv Kumar Gautham had been contacting his girlfriend who lives in the city. The police also checked her call records to get hints about the whereabouts of Shiv Kumar. However, it later became evident that Gautham had stopped contacting her after he destroyed his old SIM card. The duo last met in August 2023.
The police had also cleared the woman's name, stating she had no role in the crime.