Police officials at the crime scene. Pic/Ashish Raje
A new development in the Baba Siddique murder case has revealed that one of the suspects, Gurmail Singh, performed surveillance on actor Salman Khan's home last month. Singh sought to avoid detection after Baba Siddique murder by smashing the display of his mobile phone, officials said.
Investigations have revealed that the suspects utilised the messaging app Snapchat to interact and share information. After reading the texts, they would delete them right away to hide their tracks. The accused also utilised Snapchat to send fake Aadhaar cards. One of the accused admitted that they were directed to take screenshots of the Aadhaar cards and then delete them.
The pistol used in the murder was transported from Ghatkopar by Shiv Kumar Gautam, another accused who is presently at large.
The authorities are continuing to investigate the murder and the accused's participation in other suspected crimes.
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Mumbai police are combing places of worship in Madhya Pradesh's Ujjain and Khandwa districts for the third suspect in the murder of NCP leader Baba Siddique, reported PTI.
The former Maharashtra minister was shot outside his son Zeeshan Siddique's office in Nirmal Nagar, Mumbai, on Saturday night, with two of the six bullets hitting his chest
Three people have been arrested thus far: Gurmail Baljit Singh (23) of Haryana and Dharmaraj Rajesh Kashyap (19) of Uttar Pradesh, both identified as shooters, and Pravin Lonkar of Pune, a co-conspirator. Another suspect, Shivkumar Gautam, who is still at large, has been writing online about his "gangster" status. In a July Instagram picture, Gautam captioned a photo "Yaar tera gangster hai jaani" (your friend is a gangster), while posing on a motorcycle.
The police have also issued a search order for Mohammad Yasin Akhtar, the group's alleged handler.
According to the news agency report, Mumbai police teams have been in Madhya Pradesh since Sunday, focussing on Ujjain and Khandwa, where Gautam is alleged to have visited religious sites. The Omkareshwar temple is located in Khandwa, which shares a border with Maharashtra, while the Mahakal temple can be found near Ujjain. Both websites receive thousands of visitors per day.
A local police official in Khandwa indicated that the gunmen had previously visited these locations, and Gautam could return. The cops have found no leads so far.
Meanwhile, Mumbai police are looking into possible motives for the murder, such as a contract killing, political or business rivalry, or a disagreement over a slum restoration project. The Lawrence Bishnoi gang is suspected of involvement, and authorities are investigating a social media post that claimed credit for the murder, the report added.
Shivkumar Gautam, of Gandara village in Bahraich district, had no criminal past. Locals reported he went to work in Pune and became connected with a scrap shop. Gautam's recent social media posts have featured incendiary captions and references to gangster films.
The third accused, Pravin Lonkar, has been remanded in police custody until October 21. He is accused of recruiting two of the shooters involved in the attack. The police have requested custody to take Lonkar to Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Bihar for further investigation. His brother, Shubham Lonkar, who remains at large, is allegedly associated with jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and is thought to have conspired in the murder.
Yasin Akhtar, a resident of Shankar village in Punjab's Jalandhar district, is also wanted in the case. Akhtar, who faces nine criminal charges, including murder, was released from jail in June 2024. He is suspected of having ties to gangster Vikram Brar.
With PTI inputs
