Baba Siddique shot dead: Was plot to kill Zeeshan also?

The killers of Baba Siddique were in Mumbai for over a month surveying locations associated with Siddique and his son Zeeshan before carrying out the shooting at Bandrarsquos Kherwadi on Saturday evening Sources said the shooters were instructed to target both Zeeshan and his father However on the day of the incident Zeeshan who represents the Bandra East Assembly seat left his Kherwadi office just minutes before his father arrived from a garba event nearbyBefore opening fire on Siddique the attackers allegedly used tear gas causing confusion As a result no one saw the exact sequence of events but gunshots were heard and moments later Siddique was found lying on the ground covered in blood The cops also suspect insiders provided information about SiddiqueBaba Siddiquersquos funeral procession on Sunday night PicSatej ShindeThe police have apprehended two accused Gurmail Baljit Singh from Haryana who has a criminal record and a UP native who claims he is a minor The third accused Shivkumar Gautam managed to flee Officials stated that they had been tracking him since Saturday night and by Sunday morning he was traced to Panvel Multiple teams have been deployed to various states including Haryana Uttar Pradesh and Delhi to intercept himThird arrestMeanwhile the Crime Branch on Sunday arrested one Pravin Lonkar 28 who along with his brother Shubham are believed to be coconspirators in the case Shubham is accused of sharing a Facebook post claiming that Bishnoi was behind Siddiquersquos murder which he later deleted Pravin was arrested in Pune while his brother is absconding Shubham had been arrested earlier this year by the Akola police under the Arms ActSalman Khan after visiting the late NCP leader Baba Siddiquersquos family at their residence in Bandra West on Sunday PicAnurag AhirePravin owned a dairy shop in Pune near a scrap dealerrsquos shop where the alleged minor accused and the absconding accused Gautam worked Police have cleared the scrap dealer of any involvement stating that he only provided jobs to Gautam and the lsquominorrsquo as they are from the same villageDaytoday activitiesAccording to officials the trio was living in Kurla paying Rs 10000Rs 12000 a month in rent They reportedly travelled daily to Bandra mostly using autorickshaws to survey locations associated with Baba Siddique and Zeeshan including their residence offices and venues of events they attended ldquoWe are not sure if they attempted to eliminate one or both of them prior to this incident Compared to other possible locations the spot at Kherwadi was favourable for shootingrdquo an officer statedNCPSP MP Supriya Sule offers her condolences to actor and director Pooja Bhatt a close friend of Baba Siddique PicAnurag AhireOn Saturday both Siddique and his son were at the same location and the accused were aware of this Sources also suspect that an insider may have been passing information about Siddique and Zeeshan enabling the shooters to arrive at the location at the right time and open fire between 9 pm and 915 pmRevealing why they believe Zeeshan may have also been a target sources said Siddiquersquos visit to the office that day was not part of his regular routine After he reached the office he inquired about Zeeshanrsquos whereabouts and was told that he had left a few minutes earlier for some work As Siddique approached his car Gautam fired six rounds from a 9mm pistol before fleeing Sources said the other two accused did not fire any shots but were armed with pistols The Crime Branch also mentioned that the accused were carrying chilli powder spray though it was not used and has not yet been recoveredExMLA Priya Dutt her husband Owen Roncon PicSatej ShindeldquoWe are verifying every aspect of the case As of now we cannot say anything the shooters having criminal records and all of them having pistols indicates that they had other targets as wellrdquo an officer saidBishnoi gang angleThe Lawrence Bishnoi gang whose members fired multiple rounds outside Salman Khanrsquos residence earlier this year is suspected to be behind the killing of the former Congress MLA and senior political leader of the NCP Ajit Pawar faction Officials have confirmed that they discovered links suggesting the arrested accused are members of the gang They are also investigating the possibility that an SRA dispute and business rivalry may have also been a motiveZarine Khan was one of the many figures from the film industry who paid her last respects PicSatej ShindeShubhamrsquos social media post claimed that the Bishnoi gang was responsible for the murder which was carried out due to Salman Khanrsquos association with Siddique The post read ldquoWe never wanted this but today we are closing the chapter of Baba Siddique as he was under the MCOCA Act along with Dawood Ibrahim The reason behind his death is Anuj Thapan an accused in the Salman Khan firing case who died in police custody earlier this year and the connection between Dawood Bollywood and politicians We donrsquot have a problem with anyone but if anyone helps Dawood and Salman Khan we will react We never started this warrdquoPoliceSpeakDatta Nalawade DCP Crime Branch said ldquoWe are verifying the social media post and cannot comment on anything We are investigating the Bishnoi SRA dispute and business rivalry anglesrdquoThe police have also said that Siddique had not complained about threats and his security was not enhanced ldquoHe had the protection of the Mumbai police which includes three constables one at a time for eight hoursrdquo said Nalawade9 pm to 915 pmWindow within which rounds were firedlsquoBaba loved to feed othersrsquoAsif Bhamla politician and environmentalistFor this to happen to someone who had done so much for the people day and night is shocking I have known Baba Siddique for the past 38 years He was a foodie who loved to feed people tooHe was Sunil Duttrsquos proteacutegeacute and when I was in the NSUI in my second year of college both of us were part of the Congress party then at my college Baba was president of the Mumbai Youth Congress Also Mr Dutt introduced Baba to BollywoodShah Rukh came later as he was a Delhi boy There was Baba Salman and Sanju toomdashwe were all Bandra boys and like a closeknit family all there for each other Salman would cycle to our evening meeting spot an ice cream parlour called Yankee DoodleI started my Navratri event in college and Baba would always be there as its main face He always used to have grand elaborate Iftaar celebrations promoting unity and camaraderie where people from different backgrounds came together as one big familyOver the years the Iftar party became a grand Bollywood affair Attended by the top stars of the Hindi film industry Yet Baba never used any of these stars for political campaigns They were friends whose relationships he nurturedSophie Choudry ActresssingerI have known Baba for over a decade I first met him at Salmanrsquos house many years ago I am shocked and saddened beyond words I pray justice prevails his soul rests in peace and Allah gives strength to his family For something like this to happen in Mumbai in this day and age is just shockingHe was so warm hospitable and always willing to help even with the smallest of issues We werenrsquot in touch regularly but I spoke to him a few weeks ago And of course his Iftaar parties were something we all looked forward to He loved bringing people together and adored his familyInputs by Upala KBR