19 October,2024 07:41 AM IST | Mumbai | Faizan Khan
The five arrested on Friday are allegedly members of the Bishnoi gang
Investigations into the murder of senior NCP leader and former Bandra MLA Baba Siddique have revealed that the weapons used in the shooting were procured from Rajasthan. Authorities have repeatedly issued alerts about weapons being smuggled from Pakistan through the Rajasthan and Punjab borders. Officials are now verifying if the same route was used to smuggle the arms used in Siddique's assassination on October 12.
The Crime Branch has seized three weapons from the accused arrested so far - an Austrian-made Glock pistol and a locally-made "desi katta". A third weapon, found near the crime scene 48 hours later, was identified as a Turkish-made firearm. It was later confirmed that this weapon was used by the absconding accused, Shivkumar Gautam. Additionally, 58 live bullets have been seized from the accused.
The photogallery here
This revelation followed the arrest of five more individuals on Friday. Two of them, Ram Kanoujiya and Nitin Sapre, alleged members of the Bishnoi gang, were initially tasked with eliminating Siddique. However, they demanded Rs 50 lakh each due to the NCP leader's political prominence. The key accused, Shubham Lonkar, who is on the run, had refused to pay the hefty sum. Lonkar instead allegedly hired an Uttar Pradesh-based module of the Bishnoi gang to carry out the murder for Rs 2 lakh.
"The accused revealed that they had already procured the weapon from Rajasthan, which was later handed over to Gautam in Ghatkopar, who executed the killing," said an officer. Gangsters in North India are increasingly using the Rajasthan and Punjab routes to smuggle weapons from Pakistan, which are then used in various criminal activities across the country, said the sleuths.
