Mumbai/Delhi. Mumbai Police has arrested a 28-year-old man from Pune who, along with his brother, had “helped” two of the three alleged shooters in the Baba Siddiqui murder case. An official gave this information on Sunday. The man arrested from Pune has been identified as Praveen Lonkar, whom the police described as a ‘co-conspirator’ and said they are searching for his brother Shubham Lonkar. So far three people have been arrested in the case.
According to the crime branch official, Praveen and Shubham had “helped” the two alleged shooters, one of whom is a resident of Uttar Pradesh and the other is Shivkumar Gautam. Gautam is absconding, while police have arrested another alleged shooter, identified as Gurmail Baljeet Singh (23), a resident of Uttar Pradesh.
The officer said that the police had gone to Pune in search of Shubham Lonkar, but he was not found there. Subsequently, the police arrested his brother Praveen for his alleged involvement in the crime. Siddiqui (66) was shot by three people outside the office of his MLA son Zeeshan Siddiqui in Kher Nagar in Mumbai’s Bandra area on Saturday night, after which he was taken to Lilavati Hospital, where he was declared dead by doctors.
Political turmoil over the murder of Baba Siddiqui; Bishnoi gang’s role claimed in the post
There was a heated war of words between the opposition parties and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday over the murder of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Baba Siddiqui in Mumbai’s Bandra area. At the same time, in a viral social media post, it was claimed that Lawrence Bishnoi gang was behind this incident.
A Mumbai court on Sunday sent one of the two accused arrested in the case of shooting dead former minister Baba Siddiqui to police custody till October 21. The court directed the police to conduct a bone test of the second accused to ascertain his age as he claimed to be a minor. The police told the court that they wanted to investigate whether the incident was carried out due to political rivalry in view of the upcoming assembly elections in Maharashtra.
The Congress demanded a thorough investigation into Siddiqui’s murder case and said Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis should resign, taking moral responsibility for the failure of law and order. The BJP criticized the opposition parties for playing “petty politics” over the incident. NCP chief and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said that the murder of his party leader Siddiqui should not be politicized and the state government will not rest until the culprits are punished.
Siddiqui (66) was shot by three people outside the office of his MLA son Zeeshan Siddiqui in Kher Nagar in Mumbai’s Bandra area on Saturday night, after which he was taken to Lilavati Hospital, where he was declared brought dead.
Congress alleged that the BJP-led grand alliance government in Maharashtra has failed to protect its leaders and the people of Mumbai. Congress claimed that the government is trying to postpone the election dates through these incidents. Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh said on ‘X’, “This government is in its last stages. With this, its countdown has started.” Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and party leader Rahul Gandhi said that the Maharashtra government should take responsibility and order a thorough and transparent investigation.
Gandhi said on ‘X’, “The murder of Baba Siddiqui ji is shocking and sad. My condolences are with his family in this difficult time. This horrific incident highlights the deterioration in the law and order situation in Maharashtra. The government should take responsibility and justice should be done.” Kharge said on ‘X’, “Justice should be ensured and the present Maharashtra government should order a thorough and transparent investigation. The culprits should be punished as soon as possible. Accountability should be fixed.”
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said that this incident is extremely regrettable. He said, “We have instructed the police to ensure that no one takes the law into their own hands under any circumstances. “We cannot allow any type of fighting between gangs to resurface in our city.” Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, who is part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in Maharashtra, said that every step of the Maharashtra government is being viewed with suspicion, like the two FIRs taken in the murder of NCP leader Baba Siddiqui. Arrests and even the death of Badlapur sexual assault case accused Akshay Shinde in a police encounter.
Sharad Pawar, chief of Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar), another MVA ally, targeted the state government and said that it needs to take responsibility for the incident and the ministers need to step down. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal claimed that people across the country are “horrified” by Siddiqui’s murder. Kejriwal said that gangsters have created almost a similar environment in Delhi also. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin expressed grief over Siddiqui’s murder and said such acts have no place in civil society.
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar Tejashwi Yadav also expressed grief over the murder of Baba Siddiqui, saying that the incident exposed the ‘crippling’ law and order situation in Maharashtra. At the same time, BJP national spokesperson and former Union Minister Syed Shahnawaz Hussain said that Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress leaders are making “very cheap statements” on this incident.
He told PTI, “Baba Siddiqui was a wonderful person. We all are deeply saddened by his murder. “Two people involved in his murder have been arrested while investigation is underway to trace others involved.” Senior BJP leader and former Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi also criticized the opposition leaders and said that it is not right for them to make insensitive statements on this sensitive issue.
After being in the Congress for decades, Siddiqui had joined Ajit Pawar’s NCP earlier this year. Siddiqui was elected from Bandra West assembly seat in 1999, 2004 and 2009. Ajit Pawar said, “This is not the time for division or to take advantage of the suffering of others for political gains. For now, our focus should be on ensuring justice.” Deputy Chief Minister and state home department Devendra Fadnavis said that police have got some clues regarding Siddiqui’s murder and various aspects are being investigated.
An officer said that a police constable was deployed to protect Siddiqui when he was shot. He clarified that security was provided to Siddiqui and the services of three police constables were given for his security. He said that two pistols and 28 cartridges were recovered from the two accused Gurmel Singh (23) and Dharamraj Kashyap. Sources said that a team of the Special Cell of Delhi Police will be sent to Mumbai to help in the investigation. At the same time, in a post on social media, the involvement of Lawrence Bishnoi gang has been claimed in the incident.
Bollywood actor Salman Khan and other celebrities visited Baba Siddiqui’s Bandra residence and paid tribute to him. Siddiqui was also known for his lavish Iftar parties, which were attended by top Bollywood stars. He was also known to be close to many Bollywood stars including Salman Khan, Shahrukh Khan and Sanjay Dutt. When the outbreak of Covid-19 was at its peak in the country, Baba Siddiqui had arranged for medicines for the needy patients, which were needed on a large scale.