Mumbai: Police scoured places of worship in Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain and Khandwa districts in their hunt for the third shooter wanted for NCP leader Baba Siddique’s killing, while different teams looked for conspirators of the murder that has rocked Maharashtra ahead of polls.
The Mumbai police’s search for the suspected shooter, Shivkumar Gautam, continued for the second day on Monday in Madhya Pradesh with joint teams focusing on places of worship in Ujjain and Khandwa districts, officials said.
A Mumbai Police team reached MP Sunday, a day after Siddique was shot dead by three gunmen in the financial capital, to trace Gautam.
Police have so far arrested three persons – Gurmail Baljit Singh (23), a resident of Haryana, Dharmaraj Rajesh Kashyap (19), a native of Uttar Pradesh — both alleged shooters – and “co-conspirator Pravin Lonkar from Pune.
Suspected “handler” Mohammad Yasin Akhtar is also wanted in the case. Ujjain and Khandwa are famous for the famous Mahakal and Omkareshwar temples which attract thousands of people every day.
The Mumbai Police are joined by their counterparts in MP to pick up the trail of the third shooter, who hails from Bahraich in Uttar Pradesh.
Queried whether the runaway shooter is a “religious” person who may turn up at these famous temples, a police official evaded a direct reply, saying police are also monitoring other places.
“A Mumbai Police team in collaboration with MP police is looking for the accused. They suspect he might be hiding in MP and searching him in Ujjain district and Omkareshwar (in Khandwa district) of MP,” a police officer told PTI Sunday.
NCP leader Siddique, 66, was waylaid by three persons at Kher Nagar in Mumbai’s Bandra area just outside his MLA son Zeeshan Siddique’s office and fatally shot on Saturday night.
Police are verifying a social media post, attributed to a purported member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, owning up to the murder of Siddique.
The crime branch is also probing various angles, including a possible contract killing, business or political rivalry or threat over a slum rehabilitation project, officials said.
The Mumbai Police have set up 15 teams which have fanned out of Maharashtra in search for individuals linked to the high-profile murder.
Alleged shooter Gautam had taken to posting online content in recent months, flaunting his “gangster” status.
“Yaar tera gangster hai jaani (your friend is a gangster)”, Gautam had captioned his photo post on his Instagram account July 24. The photo showed him on a motorcycle as a Haryanvi song played in the background.
Gautam hails from Gandara village in Bahraich district, where locals and police said he had no criminal history. They added that he had gone to work at a scrap shop in Maharashtra’s Pune.
Another post of his July 8 was captioned “Sharif baap hai # (expletives) hum nahin”. On May 26, he posted a brief video of a city skyline along with background music from “KGF”, a film about a mercenary, with its dialogue “powerful people make places powerful”.
His mother, Suman, had expressed shock and disbelief over the police’s claim that Gautam was among those involved in the sensational killing of Siddique, a three-time former MLA.
The third accused in the case – Pravin Lonkar – was produced in a Mumbai court which remanded him in police custody till October 21.
Pravin Lonkar is accused of enlisting two of the three alleged shooters who opened fire at Siddique.
He was produced before the court of magistrate V R Patil where the police sought his custody for interrogation to unearth the conspiracy behind the sensational killing.
As per the police, Pravin Lonkar’s brother Shubham is allegedly associated with jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi.
The prosecution claimed Shubham Lonkar and other wanted accused had conspired the shooting and supplied arms to the gunmen who attacked the 66-year-old politician.
Shubham Lonkar was yet to be apprehended.
They informed the court that Pravin Lonkar has to be taken to Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar for further probe into the case and hence his custody was required.
Meanwhile, the Punjab Police said Yasin Akhtar, one of the suspects in the killing of Siddique, is facing nine heinous criminal cases, including for murder and attempt to murder.
Akhtar (21) is a resident of Shankar village in Jalandhar’s district, police said.
A police official in Jalandhar said nine cases are registered against Akhtar alias Jessi alias Sikandar at different police stations.
He is facing serious criminal charges, such as murder, attempt to murder and dacoity, Nakodar DySP Sukhpal Singh said.
Akhtar is facing two criminal cases in Haryana’s Kaithal as well. Akhtar was arrested in a criminal case in June 2022. He had not visited his village after he came out of jail in June 2024, police said.
Akhtar is suspected to have links with gangster Vikram Brar.
Meanwhile, a Mumbai police official said only one constable was accompanying Siddique when he was shot dead by three men who took cover of Dussehra fireworks to open fire.
Six rounds were fired on Siddique, two of which hit the former Maharashtra minister on the chest, outside his MLA son Zeeshan Siddique’s office in Nirmal Nagar between 9:15pm and 9:30pm.
Non-categorised security, under which Siddique was given three constables, is provided as per the individual’s threat perception, the official added.
Two cops on duty were relieved and only one constable was with Siddique when he was attacked, the official said.
PTI