Baba Siddique murder: MCOCA court remands eight accused in judicial custody

Baba Siddique. File pic

A special MCOCA court in Mumbai on Saturday remanded eight accused in the Baba Siddique murder case in judicial custody till December 16, reported the PTI.

The Ajit Pawar-led NCP leader and former Maharashtra minister was shot dead on October 12 in Nirmal Nagar in Bandra East.

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Mumbai Police has arrested 26 persons in the case so far, and the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) was invoked against all of them on November 30.

Eight accused, including alleged main shooter Shivkumar Gautam, were produced before the special judge for cases under MCOCA, A M Patil on Saturday at the end of their police remand, according to the PTI.

The court remanded them in judicial custody as sought by the probe agency. The remaining accused are already in judicial remand.

Among those wanted in the case are gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and his brother Anmol Bishnoi.

The Mumbai Crime Branch has so far arrested 26 accused, including alleged main shooter Shivkumar Gautam, in connection with the October 12 murder of Baba Siddique.

All the accused had earlier been sent to judicial custody by a magistrate court. But on November 30, the police invoked stringent provisions of the MCOCA against all these accused, following which they were produced before the special court.

Earlier, the police had sought the remand of eight accused, including Gautam, for further in-depth investigation into the matter. It was allowed by the special judge till December 7.

Three suspects - Shubham Rameshwar Lonkar, Zishan Akhtar, and Anmol Bishnoi - remain at large and are being actively pursued by law enforcement.

Anmol Bishnoi is the brother of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and is wanted accused in the case.

Last month, the Mumbai Crime Branch had apprehended Sumit Dinkar Wagh, 26, an associate of the primary conspirator Shubham Lonkar.

Sumit Dinkar Wagh, arrested in Akola, is accused of playing a pivotal role in financing the conspiracy under Lonkar's instructions.

He is a graduate of arts and has been involved in illegal betting.

The investigation revealed that Wagh transferred money using a Karnataka Bank account (Petlad branch, Anand, Gujarat). Funds were sent to various accused, including Nareshkumar (brother of the arrested Gurmail Singh), Rupesh Mohol and Harishkumar, the police had earlier said.

With the shooters, conspirators, and weapon suppliers already apprehended, the Crime Branch has now also been focusing on the financial aspects of the case.

Baba Siddique, a former Maharashtra minister, was shot dead on October 12 by three assailants outside his then MLA son Zeeshan Siddique's office building in Bandra East.

The 66-year-old political leader sustained two bullet injuries on his chest and was rushed to the Lilavati hospital in Mumbai, where he passed away.

(with PTI inputs)