Mumbai:

The three gunmen involved in the killing of NCP leader Baba Siddique in Mumbai practiced firing near a waterfall in adjoining Raigad district before executing the murder, police officials said on Tuesday citing their investigation.

The city police’s crime branch, investigating the October 12 murder, said interrogation of the arrested accused persons has revealed that shooters Dharmaraj Kashyap, Gurmail Singh, both arrested, and Shivkumar Gautam, who is on the run, practiced firing near a waterfall in Palasdhari under Karjat tehsil, on Mumbai’s outskirts, in September, an official said.

The shooters had found a secluded place near the waterfall, where they practiced firing for a day, he said.

A five-member Thane-based contract killing module led by Nitin Sapre and Ram Kanoujia initially got the deal to kill the former Maharashtra minister (66). Pistols used in the crime were brought by Kanoujia and another accused, Bhagwat Singh Om Singh, from Rajasthan, according to the official.

The module backed out of the contract over disagreement on demanding a sum of Rs 50 lakh for executing the crime and given the clout of the late politician, but decided to provide logistical support and other help for carrying out the hit, he said.

Shooters Gautam and Kashyap, both hailing from Uttar Pradesh, were in Mumbai in the middle of August and were kept in the Karjat area by the module. During investigation, it also came to light that Sapre and Kanoujia were in direct contact with two wanted accused in the case, Shubham Lonkar and Mohammed Zeeshan Akhtar, the official informed.

As the two shooters were aware of the topography of Karjat, a small hill town surrounded by forests which is dotted with waterfalls during the monsoon, they went for firing practice in the area along with the third gunman, Gurmail Singh, he said.

So far, the crime branch has arrested ten persons in connection with Siddique’s sensational murder in Mumbai’s Bandra area.

Police teams have fanned out in search of wanted accused Gautam, Shubham Lonkar and Akhtar against whom a look-out circular has been issued to prevent them from fleeing the country.

Investigators have not yet established the motive behind the murder and are probing the crime from different angles, including contract killing, business rivalry or threat over a slum rehabilitation project in Mumbai.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

A week after former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique’s murder, the Crime Branch of Mumbai Police will record statements of his security personnel again, as part of the investigation. Baba Siddique had ‘2+1′ security which means, two security guards during the day and one at night. Last week, on October 12, Mr Siddique was shot dead outside the office of his son, MLA Zeeshan Siddique, in Bandra East.

READ | “Need Justice, My Family Needs Justice”: MLA Zeeshan Siddique On Father’s Murder

When Mr Siddique went to Bandra East, he had two security guards tagging along. But before he left his son’s office, around 8:30 pm, one of the two security guards had left the location. This means, Mr Siddique had only one security guard with him who did not retaliate at the time of shooting, sources said.

Mr Siddique, 66, was killed around 9:30 pm, under the cover of a Dussehra procession and fireworks.

A reconstruction of the assassination explains that the three shooters and a co-conspirator had stationed themselves close to Mr Siddique’s waiting car. As he came out of the office and tried to get inside the car, the killers let off some device that covered the area in thick smoke. Many thought it was the smoke from the firecrackers, which also masked the noise of gunshots.

READ | 65 Bullets, YouTube Videos, Bikes: How Baba Siddique Murder Was Planned

All three shooters were carrying chili powder with them. As soon as bullets were fired, they threw chili powder at the police constable.

The third security guard, who was with the late Mr Siddique, claimed that something like chili went into his eyes. Therefore, he couldn’t do anything at the moment, sources revealed.

Mumbai Police will now record the statement of the three security guards again in detail.

The three shooters fired six rounds, hitting Mr Siddique on the chest and stomach. One of his aides also sustained gunshot wounds.

The three killers involved are Gurmail Baljit Singh, 23, a resident of Haryana, and 19-year-old Dharmaraj Kashyap and Shiv Kumar Gautam, also known as Shiva, both from Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh. While Gurmail and Dharmaraj have been arrested, the third shooter is on the run.

Mumbai Police’s crime branch has also arrested 28-year-old Pravin Lonkar, a “co-conspirator” in the case, from Pune and Harishkumar Balakram Nisad, 23, from Uttar Pradesh.

READ | Video From Minutes After Baba Siddique’s Murder Shows Shooter’s Arrest

Mumbai:

Investigation into the murder of former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique has revealed details of the planning behind the operation which included the acquisition of a substantial cache of bullets, YouTube firearms training, and the careful orchestration of getaway plans. The plotters aimed to ensure the murder was executed with precision, taking no chances on ammunition or escape routes.

So far, four individuals have been arrested, including Haryana resident Gurmail Baljit Singh (23), Uttar Pradesh native Dharmaraj Rajesh Kashyap (19), both alleged shooters; Harishkumar Balakram Nisad (23), and “co-conspirator” Pravin Lonkar, who belongs to Pune.

Nisad and Kashyap belong to the same village as the wanted accused Shivkumar Gautam. 

According to police sources, the accused responsible for Mr Siddique’s murder – Gurmail Singh (23) and Dharamaraj Kashyap (19) – were equipped with 65 bullets, a stockpile intended to guarantee they would not run out of ammunition. Six of these bullets were fired on the night of October 12, when Mr Siddique was shot dead outside his son Zeeshan Siddique’s office in the Nirmal Nagar area in Bandra.

Authorities have recovered two firearms used by the accused – an Austrian-made pistol and a locally manufactured country-made pistol. Alongside these weapons, police found 28 live bullets on Singh and Kashyap at the time of their arrest. The investigative team also discovered a black bag, located just a short distance from the murder site, containing a Turkish-made 7.62 bore pistol and 30 live rounds. This bag also held two Aadhar cards – one in the name of Shivkumar Gautam, who is also a suspect in the case, and another under the name Sumit Kumar, though both cards bore Shivkumar’s photo.

Motorbike Plan Foiled By Accident

According to the police, the accused had initially planned to carry out the attack using a motorbike. The idea was for the shooters to ride up to the location, execute the murder, and then escape quickly by bike. However, a traffic accident involving two of the suspects caused them to abandon this plan. Instead, the three perpetrators decided to travel by auto-rickshaw to the site of the crime. After the murder, they quickly changed their clothes to avoid detection.

Harishkumar Balakram Nisad, one of the arrested co-conspirators, had transferred Rs 60,000 for the purchase of a motorbike. Out of this amount, Rs 32,000 was used to buy a second-hand bike, which was intended to be used in the assassination.

Manhunt And Escape Attempts

The investigation has revealed the involvement of several suspects, with the prime accused, Shubham Lonkar, an alleged member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang who is still at large. Mumbai Police have issued a Look Out Circular (LOC) against Lonkar, who is believed to be attempting to flee to Nepal. His photographs have been circulated at the Nepal border in an effort to prevent his escape.

Lonkar had remained active on social media until just three days before the murder, with responsibility for Mr Siddique’s killing reportedly being claimed via his Facebook profile on October 9. His brother, Praveen Lonkar, has been arrested for allegedly providing financial support to the killers. 

Authorities have not yet managed to track down Shubham’s exact location, but intelligence suggests he may have been in contact with key criminal networks. 

YouTube Training And Firearm Mastery

According to the police, the shooters learned to operate guns by watching YouTube tutorials. In the weeks leading up to the murder, the accused rented a house in the Kurla area of Mumbai, where they practised loading, unloading, and handling weapons. Due to a lack of open space, they engaged in “dry practice” drills and rehearsing with unloaded guns.

Investigations also revealed that Shivkumar Gautam, another prime suspect, had experience with firearms from celebratory firings at weddings in Uttar Pradesh, where he is believed to have honed his shooting skills. Gautam, described as the “main shooter,” not only participated in the planning but also trained Kashyap and Singh in the handling of guns. The trio communicated frequently via social media platforms like Snapchat and Instagram, using these apps to stay under police radar while coordinating the assassination plan.

Shubham Lonkar, the key suspect on the run, was previously arrested in January under the Arms Act in Maharashtra’s Akola district. His arrest had led to the seizure of more than ten firearms.