Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde's FIRST Reaction On Baba Siddique's Death, Assures Strict Action - VIDEO

Mumbai: Former Maharashtra minister and senior leader of Ajit Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) was shot dead in Mumbai's Bandra East area on Saturday night. Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde assured strict action against the three accused."Ex-Minister Baba Siddique was attacked and he died. It is a very unfortunate incident. As per the Police Commissioner, two accused were arrested, while the third suspect is still absconding. One of the arrested accused is from Haryana, while another is from Uttar Pradesh. Police teams are working to nab the third accused," Shinde said."Strict action will be taken against all the three accused... The case will be handed over to fast track court," he added.Notably, the police have not revealed the identity of the arrested accused so far. Cops also 9.9 mm pistol which was used to attack Siddique.Shinde's Reaction:

Eknath Shinde

Opposition leaders of the state hit out at the Shinde government over the incident. NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar said that the state's collapsed law and order situation is a cause for concern. "The shooting of former state minister Baba Siddiqui in Mumbai, the financial capital of the country, is regrettable. If the Home Minister and the rulers are going to push the cart of the state so mildly, it can be an alarm bell for the common people," he added.Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi demanded a CBI probe into the incident. "Shocked to hear about Shri Baba Siddique being shot dead. My condolences to @zeeshan_iyc , wishing him and his family lots of strength in their toughest moment. This lawlessness in the city is unacceptable and should be probed by CBI," Chaturvedi said in her X post. The Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly, Vijay Wadettiwar, expressed grief over Baba Siddique's death. He slammed the Maharashtra government over the incident. Wadettiwar said that the state government supported the criminals. He demanded a thorough investigation into the matter. Who was Baba Siddique?Ziauddin Siddique, also known as Baba Siddique, joined the Congress party at a young age in 1977. Siddique served as a member of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly thrice from the Bandra East constituency (1999–2004), (2004–09) and (2009–14).He served as the Minister of State for Food and Civil Supplies, Labour and FDA from 2004 to 2008. Siddique made headlines earlier this year in February when he dramatically switched allegiance to Ajit Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) after 48 years with Congress.Siddique's son, Zeeshan, served as a Congress MLA representing Bandra (East) in Mumbai; however, he was expelled from the party in August for alleged anti-party activities.