Mumbai Police are investigating the killing of former Maharashtra MLA Baba Siddique from multiple angles, including a possible contract killing, business rivalry, or threats related to a slum rehabilitation project. Siddique, a 66-year-old NCP leader, was shot by three assailants in Mumbai on Saturday night.
Siddique was attacked in Bandra, outside the office of his MLA son Zeeshan Siddique.He was brought to Lilavati Hospital’s emergency services at 9.30 PM in a critical condition and was declared dead at 11.27 PM after resuscitation efforts failed.
After being transferred from Lilavati Hospital, his body was sent to Cooper Hospital for a postmortem on Sunday morning. The incident has raised concerns about the state’s law and order, especially with assembly elections expected next month.
Fired during Durga visarjan procession to drown the sounds
A forensic team visited the crime scene and gathered samples, while the police are reviewing CCTV footage. The attackers used a 9.9 mm pistol, firing four to five rounds during a Durga visarjan procession, taking advantage of the noise from firecrackers.
They got advantage as most of the people did not hear the gunshots sound, the police said.
What doctors said
He was shifted to the Lilavati Hospital’s emergency medical services at 9.30 pm in an unresponsive condition with no pulse, no cardiac activity, no blood pressure, and with a history of gunshot wounds on the chest, officials from the medical facility said.
Siddique had lost a lot of blood and resuscitation was initiated immediately. He was shifted to the ICU where further attempts for revival were made. Despite all resuscitative efforts, doctors were unable to revive him and he was declared dead at 11.27 pm on Saturday, they said.
Two of three suspects arrested
Two suspects from Uttar Pradesh and Haryana have been detained. A third suspect remains at large. Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde confirmed the arrests and emphasised the need for the police to maintain law and order, stating that decisive action would be taken against those involved.
The accused, Gurmel Singh from Haryana and Dharamraj Kashyap from Uttar Pradesh, both in their 20s, are currently in police custody and will be presented before the Esplanade Court. The arrested men are claiming innocence and shifting blame to the third suspect who managed to escape.
Mumbai police, after questioning the accused for eight hours, said that the suspects were paid in advance for this work and had received arms delivery a few days ago.
Accused did recce of Baba Siddique’s house, monitored him for months
The case has been handed over to the crime branch for further probe and the police are investigating it from all different angles, including contract killing, business rivalry and threat over a Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) project, the official said.
The accused had done recce of Baba Siddiqui’s house and office premises, they were in Mumbai for one and a half to two months and were keeping an eye on him.
Work of Lawrence Bishnoi gang?
Police are still probing the exact motive behind Siddique’s murder, and one line of inquiry is a possible connection to a dispute involving the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA), in which Siddique was involved.
Additionally, given Siddique’s close ties with actor Salman Khan, who had been previously threatened by the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, police are examining if there is any gang involvement in the killing.
A senior crime branch official said, “We are inquiring whether this was the handiwork of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, but we want to be sure.”
Leaders express shock, horror
Siddique had represented the Bandra (West) seat three times. Siddique had joined Ajit Pawar’s faction of the NCP earlier this year after leaving Congress, where he had been a prominent figure for over four decades. This assassination marks the first high-profile political murder in Mumbai in three decades.
Leader of opposition and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi expressed his shock and slammed the Maharashtra govt for ‘complete collapse of law and order’. “The tragic demise of Baba Siddique ji is shocking and saddening. My thoughts are with his family in this difficult time. This horrifying incident exposes the complete collapse of law and order in Maharashtra. The government must take responsibility, and justice must prevail,” wrote Gandhi.
Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar expressed his condolences on X, describing the attack as “extremely unfortunate and condemnable.” He added, “We have lost a leader who fought for the minority community and championed secularism.”
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