TOI News Desk
NEW DELHI: The Mumbai police have revealed that the plot to assassinate NCP leader and former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddiqui had started three months ago. The accused had visited Baba Siddiqui’s residence multiple times without carrying any weapons, as per the Mumbai police.
Based on the information obtained from the Mumbai Crime Branch, the entire plot to murder Baba Siddiqui was orchestrated in Pune.The Mumbai Crime Branch has recorded statements from over 15 individuals, including several eyewitnesses who were present at the scene of the incident.
In connection with the murder of NCP leader Baba Siddique, the Mumbai Police has taken another individual into custody, alleging that he supplied funds and weapons for the crime. Harishkumar Balakram Nisad (23), originally from Bahraich in Uttar Pradesh, is the fourth person to be arrested in the case. On Tuesday, a court remanded him to police custody until October 21.
“Nisad worked as a scrap dealer in Warje area of Pune city,” said a police official. A team from the Mumbai crime branch apprehended him in Bahraich on Monday.
Previously, the police had arrested Gurmail Baljit Singh (23) from Haryana, Dharmaraj Rajesh Kashyap (19) from Uttar Pradesh, both alleged shooters, and “co-conspirator” Pravin Lonkar from Pune.
Shivkumar Gautam, another suspected shooter who also hails from Bahraich, remains at large.
During Nisad’s appearance before additional chief judicial magistrate V R Patil, the police informed the court that he had provided financial assistance to the co-accused and that further investigation was required to establish “the upper link and lower link” regarding the financial support and determine how he procured the weapons used in the crime.
Nisad and Kashyap are from the same village as the wanted accused, Shivkumar Gautam.
Ajay Dubey, Nisad’s lawyer, opposed the remand plea, arguing that the accused was a “victim of circumstances and a scapegoat.” However, the magistrate acknowledged the seriousness of the offence and deemed his custodial interrogation necessary.
According to the police, Nisad, along with Kashyap, Gautam, Pravin Lonkar, and Pravin’s brother Shubham, was involved in the conspiracy to kill Siddique.
On Saturday night, Baba Siddique (66), a former Congress leader who had recently joined the Nationalist Congress Party, was ambushed by three individuals in Mumbai’s Nirmal Nagar area, just outside the office of his MLA son Zeeshan Siddique, and shot.
The Mumbai crime branch has assembled various teams to apprehend Shivkumar Gautam, accused Mohammed Zeeshan Akhtar, and other individuals wanted in connection with the case.
According to officials, the crime branch is exploring various angles, including the possibility of a contract killing, business or political rivalry, or threats related to a slum rehabilitation project.