A person affiliated with jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi on Sunday claimed the murder of former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique, reported India Today.
Siddique, 66, a member of the Nationalist Congress Party faction led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, was shot dead allegedly by three men in the city’s Bandra East area on Saturday evening.
He was taken to Lilavati Hospital in Bandra West where he died while receiving medical treatment.
Two of the alleged shooters have been arrested while the police are searching for the third. The two men arrested have been identified as 23-year-old Gurmail Singh from Haryana and another person from Uttar Pradesh, who claimed to be a minor in court on Sunday.
According to a Facebook post shared by an alleged member of Bishnoi’s gang, Siddique was killed due to his close ties to Bollywood star Salman Khan and alleged connections with members of the underworld, including Dawood Ibrahim.
“Om, Jai Shri Ram, Jai Bharat,” read the Facebook post, written by a person named Shubuu Lonkar. “I understand the essence of life, and consider wealth and the body as dust. I did only what was right, honouring the duty of friendship.”
According to NDTV, Lonkar is a known associate of Bishnoi.
The post also mentioned a person named Anuj Thapan, who was implicated in the shooting incident outside Khan’s residence on April 14 in Bandra West. Thapan allegedly took his own life while in police custody.
“Salman Khan, we did not want this war, but you made our brother lose his life,” the post added. “Baba Siddique’s chapter has closed today, or at one time he was under MCOCA (Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act) with Dawood [Ibrahim]. The reason for his death is Anuj Thapan and Dawood, who were to be linked with Bollywood, politics, and property dealings.”
Bishnoi, who is lodged at Sabarmati Central Jail, has frequently made news for his threats to Khan. The actor attracted the gangster’s attention after allegedly killing a blackbuck during the shooting of a film in Rajasthan in 1998. The animal is sacred to the Bishnoi community.
The post warned that anyone aiding Khan or Ibrahim should expect retaliation.
“We have no personal enmity with anyone,” it said. “However, anyone who helps Salman Khan or the Dawood gang should be prepared. If anyone gets any of our brothers killed, we will respond. We never strike first. Jai Shri Ram, Jai Bharat, salute to the martyrs.”
The Mumbai Police said they were investigating the authenticity of the post, reported India Today.
Siddique’s assailants fired six to seven rounds at the former minister as he was getting into his car while leaving his son Zeeshan Siddique’s office. Two bullets hit him in the chest and one in the abdomen.
The killing took place on a day when the police were on high alert on account of the annual Dussehra rallies that were held by the rival factions of the Shiv Sena. Opposition leaders criticised the state government for failing to ensure law and order and urged it to take responsibility for the killing.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde described the killing as extremely unfortunate and said he had directed the police to ensure that no one takes law and order into their own hands. “A gang war-like situation must not be allowed to rear its head,” he said.
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