MUMBAI: The motive for the murder of former MLA and Maharashtra minister Ziauddin 'Baba' Siddique remains unclear despite the arrest of two shooters, and an Akola resident who allegedly enlisted the shooters. One of the killers, Gurnail Singh , who has three cases in Haryana including one for murder, had allegedly established links with the Lawrence Bishnoi gang in Kaithal jail there. He got bail 3-4 months ago and moved to Mumbai.
Siddique was close to actor Salman Khan, who has been threatened and targeted on several occasions by jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and his men due to his alleged involvement in the 1998 blackbuck killing case. Police are also looking at whether the murder was was a fallout of a dispute over a high-stakes slum rehabilitation (SRA) project in Bandra, in which Siddique was accused of irregularities. A social media post linking the killing to the Bishnoi gang had said the politician was targeted due to his links with Salman and underworld don Dawood Ibrahim.
Two of the shooters -Dharmaraj Kashyap who has been arrested, and Shivkumar Gautam, who is on the run - were neighbours in a village in Bahraich district in UP and had no criminal record. Singh and Kashyap are believed to have conducted a recce on Siddique's Bandra residence and his son's office at Nirmal Nagar before the attack. Police have seized two Glock automatic pistols and four magazines containing at least 28 bullets from the duo, suggesting strong back-up from their handlers.
Bishnoi allegedly paid the three shooters Rs 50,000 upfront and promised Rs 2 lakh more to each of them after the killing. A police source said the accused were in the city since the first week of Sept. "They stayed in a rented room in Kurla," said an officer. "The accused had got money for their expenses, including the Rs 14,000 monthly rent."
Apart from the arms and ammo, one pistol magazine, four mobile phones, two Aadhaar cards and a bag were seized from the arrested accused. Kashyap and Singh have been booked for murder and attempted murder under the BNS as well as Arms Act. They were brought to Esplanade court on Sunday amid tight security. The court sent Singh in police custody till Oct 21, and asked cops to carry out an ossification test on Kashyap to determine his exact age after he claimed that he was 17 years old.
When the magistrate asked for Kashyap's age-proof documents, public prosecutor Gautam Gaikwad referred to his seized Aadhaar card which said he was 21. But advocate Siddharth Agarwal, who appeared for both the accused, told the court that Kashyap was 17. Agarwal said his client was ready to undergo an ossification test.
However, police are still investigating the motives, especially since Bishnoi delayed claiming responsibility for the murder on social media by more than 15 hours. This delay, along with the lack of adequate knowledge about the accused, has raised doubts about whether the gang link is a red herring. "The two arrested accused have very little information. Our teams are trying to nab Gautam, who could reveal the details of the operation. We are also not ruling out the SRA angle, as the Bishnoi link could be a diversion," said a police official.
Joint commissioner of police (law & order) Satyanarayan Choudhary confirmed that Siddique had not filed any complaints of a threat, rubbishing rumours that his security cover was recently enhanced to Y-plus. However, the fact that the assassins got past his police security has raised concerns. When asked about the security given to Siddique, a senior police officer said he had non-categorised security.
"City crime branch's 15 teams are working on the case," said Datta Nalawade, DCP (Crime). Some police teams have been sent outside Maharashtra for a probe. When asked whether there was any SRA, business rivalry or involvement of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang in the murder, Nalwade said, "We are probing all angles."
When asked whether it was the handiwork of the Bishnoi gang, another police source said that they were inquiring into it. "We want to be sure,' he said, adding, "the arrested accused are portraying themselves as innocent and blaming the accused [Gautam] who fled from the spot".
A Mumbai Police team conducted raids in Ujjain district and Omkareshwar town in Khandwa district of MP in connection with the murder. Ujjain SP Pradeep Sharma said, "The team has been in Ujjain since Sunday morning and is working closely with the local crime branch. While Mumbai Police has not disclosed the specific connection of Ujjain to the case, their search efforts are focused on dharamshalas and religious sites due to the large influx of visitors from different regions."
Siddique was close to actor Salman Khan, who has been threatened and targeted on several occasions by jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and his men due to his alleged involvement in the 1998 blackbuck killing case. Police are also looking at whether the murder was was a fallout of a dispute over a high-stakes slum rehabilitation (SRA) project in Bandra, in which Siddique was accused of irregularities. A social media post linking the killing to the Bishnoi gang had said the politician was targeted due to his links with Salman and underworld don Dawood Ibrahim.
Two of the shooters -Dharmaraj Kashyap who has been arrested, and Shivkumar Gautam, who is on the run - were neighbours in a village in Bahraich district in UP and had no criminal record. Singh and Kashyap are believed to have conducted a recce on Siddique's Bandra residence and his son's office at Nirmal Nagar before the attack. Police have seized two Glock automatic pistols and four magazines containing at least 28 bullets from the duo, suggesting strong back-up from their handlers.
Bishnoi allegedly paid the three shooters Rs 50,000 upfront and promised Rs 2 lakh more to each of them after the killing. A police source said the accused were in the city since the first week of Sept. "They stayed in a rented room in Kurla," said an officer. "The accused had got money for their expenses, including the Rs 14,000 monthly rent."
Apart from the arms and ammo, one pistol magazine, four mobile phones, two Aadhaar cards and a bag were seized from the arrested accused. Kashyap and Singh have been booked for murder and attempted murder under the BNS as well as Arms Act. They were brought to Esplanade court on Sunday amid tight security. The court sent Singh in police custody till Oct 21, and asked cops to carry out an ossification test on Kashyap to determine his exact age after he claimed that he was 17 years old.
When the magistrate asked for Kashyap's age-proof documents, public prosecutor Gautam Gaikwad referred to his seized Aadhaar card which said he was 21. But advocate Siddharth Agarwal, who appeared for both the accused, told the court that Kashyap was 17. Agarwal said his client was ready to undergo an ossification test.
However, police are still investigating the motives, especially since Bishnoi delayed claiming responsibility for the murder on social media by more than 15 hours. This delay, along with the lack of adequate knowledge about the accused, has raised doubts about whether the gang link is a red herring. "The two arrested accused have very little information. Our teams are trying to nab Gautam, who could reveal the details of the operation. We are also not ruling out the SRA angle, as the Bishnoi link could be a diversion," said a police official.
Joint commissioner of police (law & order) Satyanarayan Choudhary confirmed that Siddique had not filed any complaints of a threat, rubbishing rumours that his security cover was recently enhanced to Y-plus. However, the fact that the assassins got past his police security has raised concerns. When asked about the security given to Siddique, a senior police officer said he had non-categorised security.
"City crime branch's 15 teams are working on the case," said Datta Nalawade, DCP (Crime). Some police teams have been sent outside Maharashtra for a probe. When asked whether there was any SRA, business rivalry or involvement of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang in the murder, Nalwade said, "We are probing all angles."
When asked whether it was the handiwork of the Bishnoi gang, another police source said that they were inquiring into it. "We want to be sure,' he said, adding, "the arrested accused are portraying themselves as innocent and blaming the accused [Gautam] who fled from the spot".
A Mumbai Police team conducted raids in Ujjain district and Omkareshwar town in Khandwa district of MP in connection with the murder. Ujjain SP Pradeep Sharma said, "The team has been in Ujjain since Sunday morning and is working closely with the local crime branch. While Mumbai Police has not disclosed the specific connection of Ujjain to the case, their search efforts are focused on dharamshalas and religious sites due to the large influx of visitors from different regions."
