Baba Siddique, 66, a former minister in the Maharashtra government and a leader of the Ajit Pawar faction of the National Congress Party, was shot dead last night in Mumbai's Bandra East. Three men opened fire at Baba Siddique and he was declared dead at the Lilavati hospital. Two suspects have been arrested in the murder case while the search is on for the third one. Sources suggest the accused have claimed that they belong to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, but the cops are yet to verify this.
Here is what we know about how the murder was carried out:
- The three accused received their weapons 15 days before the shooting through a human courier, according to sources. The weapon has been seized by the cops.
- The shooters were staying in a rented house in Kurla for the past 25-30 days, for Rs 14,000 per month.
- They had claimed before the cops that they recced the shooting spot as well as Mr Siddique's home and office well in advance, the sources said.
- The shooters were paid Rs 50,000 each, said sources.
- The three accused arrived at the shooting spot in an auto rickshaw and waited for a while before the shooting took place, added the sources in the crime branch. Cops believe another man was providing them with information about Mr Siddique's location.
At least six bullets were fired at Mr Siddique of which four hit him in the chest. Two men - Gurmail Baljit Singh, 23, from Haryana and Dharamraj Rajesh Kashyap, 19, from Uttar Pradesh - were arrested while the third - Shiva Gautam - remains on the run. Mumbai police have sought the help of Haryana and UP police for details on the two arrested accused.
Also Read: Maharashtra Ex-Minister Baba Siddique Shot Dead Near Son's Office In Mumbai
Mr Siddique was rushed to the Lilavati Hospital's emergency medical services at 9.30 pm in an unresponsive condition with no pulse, no cardiac activity, and no blood pressure, officials from the medical facility told news agency PTI.
He had lost a lot of blood. He was shifted to the ICU in an attempt to save him but was declared dead at 11.27 pm. This morning, around 6 am, his body was shifted to Cooper Hospital for postmortem.
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