In his first reaction after his father and former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique was shot dead last week, Bandra East MLA Zeeshan Siddique has said he and his family want justice. Mr Siddique also made an appeal that his father’s death should not be politicised and nor should it go in vain.
In a post on X on Thursday, Zeeshan Siddique wrote: “My father lost his life protecting and saving the lives and homes of poor innocent people. Today, my family is broken but his death must not be politicised and definitely not go in vain. I NEED JUSTICE, MY FAMILY NEEDS JUSTICE!”
Baba Siddique, 66, was shot dead by three men outside Zeeshan’s Bandra East office around 9.30 pm on Dussehra, October 13. Police had said six bullets were fired at him, four of which hit him and another hit an aide in the leg. Siddique was rushed to the Lilavati Hospital, where he was declared dead.
Two of the shooters, Gurmail Baljit Singh from Haryana and Dharamraj Kashyap from Uttar Pradesh, were arrested soon after the murder while Shiv Kumar Gautam, who is also from Uttar Pradesh, is on the run.
On Sunday, Kashyap had claimed in a Mumbai court that his age was 17 despite his Aadhar card stating that he was 19, and a bone ossification test had been ordered. On Monday, the results of the test proved that he is not a minor.
Police sources said the suspects have claimed that they work for gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, who is lodged in Gujarat’s Sabarmati jail, and the same claim was made in a social media post on Sunday. The Facebook post was made on the handle of one Shubuu Lonkar, believed to be Bishnoi gang associate Shubham Rameshwar Lonkar, claiming responsibility for the murder.
Police said the post was made by Lonkar’s brother, Pravin, who was arrested from Pune on Sunday evening. On Tuesday, another arrest was made in the case – that of Harishkumar Balakram, 23, from Bahraich in Uttar Pradesh. Balakram worked as a scrap dealer in Pune and officials said he was part of the conspiracy to kill Baba Siddique.
The alleged handler of the three shooters, Mohammad Zeeshan Akhtar, is also on the run.
Congress To NCP Switch
Baba Siddique, who was a three-time MLA from Bandra West, was associated with the Congress for 48 years. He had quit the party in February and joined Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). Zeeshan Siddique was expelled from the Congress in August.
The NCP leader was murdered ahead of the Assembly elections in Maharashtra and the opposition has attacked the Eknath Shinde-led ruling BJP-NCP-Shiv Sena coalition over the law-and-order situation in the state.
After the killing, NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) President Sharad Pawar had said people in the government should take responsibility and step down from their posts.
“The deteriorating law and order situation in the state is a matter of concern. It is sad that former state minister Baba Siddique was shot dead in the country’s financial capital, Mumbai. If the Home minister and the rulers will take the state’s vehicle forward with such leniency, it can be a warning sign for the common people. This not only needs to be investigated, the rulers need to accept responsibility and step down from their posts. My heartfelt tribute to Baba Siddique and condolences to his family,” he wrote in Marathi on X.
Chief Minister Shinde said law and order had deteriorated under the alliance led by the opposition coalition, which is known as the Maha Vikas Aghadi, and promised that the people responsible for Siddique’s killing would not be spared.