Baba Siddique Firing: New Arrest Made, Pistol Recovered Near Crime Scene

Baba Siddique firing latest update

Baba Siddique Firing: Mumbai Police has made its 4th arrest in the Baba Siddique murder case. A 23 year old scrap dealer from Pune was arrested from Bahraich in Uttar Pradesh by crime branch.

Police have identified the 4th accused as Harishkumar Balakram, a Bahraich resident. He was part of the conspiracy and supplied money and took care of logistics, police said.

A pistol was found in a black bag near Nirmal Nagar police station. The weapon was recovered 100 meters from the spot where the shooting took place, police said.

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This was done as per the information given by the accused who have been arrested in the case. They said they threw a bag near the crime scene when they were trying to escape from the spot.

Police had earlier arrested Haryana resident Gurmail Baljit Singh (23), Uttar Pradesh native Dharmaraj Rajesh Kashyap (19), both alleged shooters and “co-conspirator” Pravin Lonkar from Pune. Another shooter Shivkumar Gautam from Bahraich is on the run.

NCP leader Siddique, 66, was waylaid by three persons in Nirmal Nagar area of Mumbai just outside MLA and son Zeeshan Siddique’s office and shot at on October 12 night. Six shots were fired at him, two of which hit his chest. He was rushed to Lilavati Hospital where he was declared dead.

Police have searched places of worship in Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain and Khandwa in search of the third shooter in the Siddique case.

Shivkumar Gautam, who is also from Bahraich and is on the run, had posted online content in the recent past flaunting his “gangster” status. “Yaar tera gangster hai jaani (your friend is a gangster)” he had captioned his photo post on his Instagram on July 24.

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The photo showed him on a motorcycle as a Haryanvi song played in the background. He is from Gandara village in Bahraich district where local residents and police said he had no criminal record. They said he had gone to work at a scrap shop in Pune.

An Instagram post by him on July 8 was captioned “Sharif baap hai # (expletives) hum nahin”. On May 26 he posted a short video of city skyline with background music from “KGF” a film about a mercenary with the dialogue “powerful people make places powerful”.

According to officials, joint teams are searching places of worship in Ujjain and Khandwa districts for Gautam. A senior police official in Khandwa district of MP said the shooters arrested by Mumbai Police have told their interrogators that they had visited some places of worship.

He said they may visit these places again. Asked if Ujjain and Khandwa have jyotirlingas and if the accused is a devotee, he wouldn’t comment. He also said Khandwa shares border with Maharashtra and “we have no inputs about him”.

Ujjain and Khandwa are famous for Mahakal and Omkareshwar temples, thousands of people visit everyday. A Mumbai Police team reached MP on Oct 13, a day after Siddique was shot dead. A top Ujjain police official said the team is still in the district. They have not found anything so far.

Suspect “handler” Mohammad Yasin Akhtar is also wanted in the case. Punjab Police said he is a resident of Shankar village in Jalandhar district and has nine heinous cases against him including murder and attempt to murder.

Akhtar was arrested in a criminal case in June 2022 and has not visited his village since he was released in June 2024, police said. He is suspected to have links with gangster Vikram Brar.

The third accused in the case – Pravin Lonkar – was produced in a Mumbai court and was sent to police custody till Oct 21. He is accused of “enlisting” two of the three alleged shooters who fired at Siddique.

Pravin’s brother Shubham Lonkar who is yet to be arrested is allegedly associated with jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi. Prosecution said Shubham and other accused who are wanted had conspired the shooting and supplied arms to the shooters who attacked the politician. Pravin has to be taken to UP, Rajasthan and Bihar for further investigation and hence his custody is required, police told the court.

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