Baba Siddique Murder: Police Nab Third Accused From Pune Who Supplied Guns To Killers

Mumbai: A key conspirator in the murder of NCP leader Baba Siddique case has been arrested from Pune on Sunday on the charge of supplying weapons to the three assailants who were involved in the shooting in the Nirmal Nagar area. 

The accused has been identified as Pravin Lonkar (28). So far, a total of 3 arrests have been made in the case.

Third Accused Arrested For Supplying Arms To Killers of Baba Siddique

Pravin Lonkar is one of the conspirators who, along with Shubham Lonkar, enlisted Dharmaraj Kashyap and Shivkumar Gautam in the plot. 

Further investigation is underway, officials said. 

Police To Probe Angle of Political Rivalry

Mumbai Police told a local court on Sunday that it will have to investigate whether NCP leader Baba Siddique was killed due to political rivalry.

While seeking the remand of accused Gurmail Singh from Haryana and Dharamraj Kashyap from Uttar Pradesh, police informed the court that they wish to investigate whether the case stems from political rivalry, especially with the Maharashtra assembly elections approaching.

Siddique, 66, was shot in the Nirmal Nagar area of Bandra East around 9:30 PM on Saturday and later succumbed to his injuries at Lilavati Hospital.

The police stated that 28 live bullets were recovered from the accused and that custodial interrogation is necessary to gather more details and prevent any future crimes.

Siddique was a three-time Congress MLA from Bandra West assembly constituency, though he lost in 2014 and 2019.

A prominent Muslim leader of the metropolis, Siddique, who was also famous for his friendship with several Bollywood A-listers, recently joined the Ajit Pawar -led Nationalist Congress Party.