Shiv Kumar Gautam, the main accused in the murder case of former minister and NCP leader Baba Siddique, revealed that after the firing, he stood outside the Lilavati Hospital – where the politician was taken – to ascertain if Mr Siddique died or survived the attack, the police said.

The shooter, who quickly changed his shirt after the firing, told the police that he stood outside the hospital for 30 minutes among the crowd. He left as soon he came to know that Mr Siddique’s condition was very critical.

Mr Siddique, 66, was shot dead in Mumbai’s Bandra on October 12 at 9:11 pm, the police said. He sustained two bullet injuries on his chest and was rushed to the Lilavati Hospital, where he passed away.

According to the accused, as per the initial plan, he was supposed to meet his aides – Dharmaraj Kashyap and Gurmail Singh at the Ujjain railway station – where a member of the Bishnoi gang was to take them to Vaishno Devi.

However, the plan failed as Kashyap and Singh were caught by the police.

How police arrested the main accused

Four friends of the main accused, whose late-night conversations on mobile phones raised suspicions, played a key role in helping the Mumbai police track down Gautam – who was arrested on Sunday.

The Mumbai Crime Branch and the Uttar Pradesh Police Special Task Force (STF) arrested Gautam along with Anurag Kashyap, Gyan Prakash Tripathi, Akash Srivastava and Akhilendra Pratap Singh near the Nepal border.

According to the police, the investigation was triggered by suspicious activities of Gautam’s four friends, who were spotted purchasing clothes in various sizes and planning to meet him in a remote forest. They were in constant touch with Gautam via internet calls on mobile phones – which were purchased in Lucknow, reported PTI.

The four aides were planning to assist the main accused in fleeing the country, the police said.

Gautam, after the firing, went to Kurla from the crime scene, boarded a local train to Thane, and then fled to Pune – where he reportedly dumped his mobile phone. He stayed in Pune for around seven days and then travelled to Uttar Pradesh’s Jhansi and Lucknow.

On Sunday, Gautam was found hiding in the hamlet of 10 to 15 hutments, around 10 km from Nanpara, a town in Uttar Pradesh.

Mumbai:

The shooters who killed Maharashtra politician Baba Siddique relied on YouTube videos to practise shooting. Accused Gurmail Singh and Dharamaraj Kashyap – who were arrested hours after they fired six rounds at Siddique – learned to shoot by watching videos on YouTube, sources said.

The police are trying to find out about the location they used to practice at, the sources added.

The Mumbai crime branch has so far recorded the statements of more than 15 people in this case, including many witnesses. The Mumbai Police also arrested one more person today – its fourth arrest – in connection with the killing of the NCP leader, claiming that he provided money and weapons for the crime.

Harishkumar Balakram Nisad (23), from Bahraich in Uttar Pradesh, was on Tuesday remanded in police custody till October 21 by a court in Mumbai.

Accused Pravin (arrested) and Shubham Lonkar (on the run) had given Rs 2 lakh to the arrested shooters Gurmail Singh and Dharamaraj Kashyap and this money was sent through the fourth accused Harish, the police said.

Nisad worked as a scrap dealer in Warje area of Pune city, said a police official.

Gurmail Baljit Singh (23), Uttar Pradesh native Dharmaraj Rajesh Kashyap (19) – the alleged shooters – were arrested on Saturday while “co-conspirator” Pravin Lonkar was arrested yesterday.

Three accused in the case – including another suspected shooter Shiva Lumar Gautam and Shubham Lonkar – are still on the run.

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

Baba Siddique (66), a former Congress leader who had joined the Nationalist Congress Party earlier this year, was shot outside his MLA son Zeeshan Siddique’s office in Bandra east’s Nirmal Nagar area. He was rushed to the nearby Lilavati hospital where he was declared dead.

Pravin Lonkar was accused of “enlisting” two of the three alleged shooters. The police were also verifying a purported social media post of his brother Shubham, an alleged member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, owning up to the murder of Siddique.

The police have also written to the Facebook and Instagram authorities, seeking more details about the post.

Shubham Lonkar was also picked by Mumbai Police in June this year for questioning after the firing incident outside Salman Khan’s house in Mumbai in April as the Bishnoi gang’s involvement was suspected.

But he was let off as no evidence was found. Still, he was kept under surveillance, but on September 24 he became untraceable.

The crime branch, meanwhile, has recovered a 7.62 mm gun from a black bag found near the crime scene.