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Father Siddique was shot dead outside his son’s office in Mumbai on Saturday evening Photo/CNN-News18
A fourth man involved in the killing of former Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Baba Siddique has been identified, police sources said, adding that the man hails from Punjab’s Jalandhar.
Identified as Mohammad Jasin Akhtar, the police said he is suspected of masterminding the killing of Baba Siddique as the man was supporting the gunmen who killed the NCP leader outside his son’s office on Saturday evening.
Akhtar, who was arrested by the Punjab police two years ago in a local case, is linked to Lawrence Bishnoi’s gang, police sources said.
The police paper confirmed his connection with Saurav Mahakal, a prominent member of the Bishnoi gang. Mahakal’s name came to light during the investigation into the murder of singer Sidhu Moosewala.
Police said Akhtar passed on information about Siddique’s movements to the gunmen, making him the fourth suspect in the NCP leader’s murder. He also provided them with funding for the programs, including renting a room.
So far, the police have arrested three people in the case, including two of the three shooters – Gurmail Singh (from Haryana) and Dharamraj Kashyap (from Uttar Pradesh), and Pravin Lonkar, the conspirators who joined the killers in the plot.
The third gunman, Shivkumar Gautam (from Uttar Pradesh) and manager Akhtar are absconding, police said. Investigation is on to nab the accused.
The Mumbai police on Sunday produced the two arrested suspects before the court. The Esplanade Court sent both the attackers – Gurmail Singh and Dharamraj Kashyap – to police custody till October 21.
Mumbai Police Probe Slum Rehab Project Link
The Mumbai police, besides investigating the involvement of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi in the tragic killing of NCP leader and former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique, are also looking into the possible role of a well-known Mumbai builder, sources told CNN-News18.
Sources in the Mumbai Police said the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) project was “very close to Baba Siddiqui and he was very vocal about it”. Siddique and his son, Congress MP Zeeshan, have been protesting against two slum redevelopment projects – Sant Dnyaneshwar Nagar and Bharat Nagar – in the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) for the past few months.
Local media reported that Siddique is against the plan as the people living in the slums are kept in the same darkness as the homes they will get after reconstruction.
Although the police have so far said that they do not have any conclusive evidence, they are confirming the allegations that the builder under the scanner paid the gang for the contract killing of the NCP leader. This worked for Bishnoi too as he too considered Siddique as his enemy.
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