Ganesh Kendale
NEW DELHI: Former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique was gunned down in Bandra despite being under Y-category security protection. The assassination, which has sent shockwaves across the state, was executed with precise planning, involving detailed surveillance of Siddique’s movements over several months.
The involvement of notorious gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and the audacity of the attack—carried out in a crowded area has raised serious concerns.
Read Also: Baba Siddique murder case: Mastermind, shooters and their criminal past; all you need to know
Here’s a look at the chilling ‘conspiracy’ behind the murder, the shooters involved, and their criminal connections.
Surveillance and planning
Months before the assassination, the accused—Dharmaraj Kashyap, Shivkumar Gautam and Gurnail Singh—monitored Siddique’s movements.
According to police, the trio conducted a recce of Siddique’s home and office premises while staying in Mumbai for 1.5 to 2 months.
Rented room in Kurla
Gangster Lawrence Bishnoi allegedly paid the shooters Rs 50,000 upfront and promised Rs 2 lakh more after the killing.
A police source revealed that the accused arrived in the city in early September, renting a room in Kurla with funds provided to cover expenses, including the Rs 14,000 monthly rent.
Photos provided of Baba Siddique
The police stated that Kashyap, Singh, and Gautam (all hailing from Bahraich, UP) were given photos of Siddique for identification.
The murder conspiracy was planned before September, with Gautam firing six bullets at Siddique, hitting him three times.
Capture of the shooters
Initially mistaken for mobile thieves, the assailants fled through a Durga Puja procession after shooting Siddique near his son’s office in Bandra.
The attackers neutralized Siddique’s police guard using pepper spray and escaped towards a nearby park. Police officers, responding to wireless alerts, surrounded the park and apprehended two suspects—Kashyap was caught attempting to scale the wall, while Singh surrendered after discarding his weapon. Gautam remains at large.
Pepper spray and security failures
The attack occurred around 9:30 PM outside Siddique’s son Zeeshan’s office. Despite the presence of one police guard, the attackers took advantage of the fireworks and the crowd.
The police guard, incapacitated by pepper spray, was unable to intervene.
A police source from Nirmal Nagar said, “Siddique had three cops as security for some time–two on day duty and one at night. He did not alert us of any threat message or call received recently. The attackers seem to have taken advantage of the firecrackers being burst and the crowd on the street.”
Police seizures
From the arrested suspects, police recovered two Glock automatic pistols, four magazines loaded with 28 bullets, four mobile phones, Aadhaar cards and a bag.
Bishnoi: Dawood link allegations
Shubham Lonkar, an Akola resident previously arrested for illegal possession of firearms, posted on social media that Siddique was targeted due to his alleged connections with actor Salman Khan and underworld don Dawood Ibrahim.
