Chilli Powder Used to Disorient Cop During Baba Siddique’s Assassination
Siddique was under non-categorized security, with three police constables assigned to him in shifts. At the time of the shooting, one officer was present.
Mumbai: Three men involved in the assassination of politician Baba Siddique reportedly threw chilli powder at the police constable guarding him during the attack. Siddique, a three-time MLA, was shot dead on Saturday evening as he left his son MLA Zeeshan Siddique’s office in Bandra East.
The arrested suspects include Gurmel Baljit Singh, 23, from Haryana, and 19-year-old Dharmaraj Kashyap from Uttar Pradesh. The third shooter, Shivkumar Gautam, is still at large.
According to their plan, Singh and Kashyap intended to shoot the 66-year-old Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader amid the festivities of a Dussehra procession. However, Shivkumar decided to take the first shot upon seeing the crowd and security around Siddique.
All three shooters were equipped with chilli powder and pepper spray. After Shivkumar fired six bullets at Siddique, they hurled chilli powder at the police constable, allowing Shivkumar to escape into the crowd, while Singh and Kashyap were apprehended. Police recovered two pistols and 28 live rounds from them.
Siddique was under non-categorized security, with three police constables assigned to him in shifts. At the time of the shooting, one officer was present.
During interrogation, the arrested shooters claimed that Shivkumar was the leader and maintained that only he knew the mastermind behind the assassination. They also alleged connections to gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, who is currently incarcerated in Sabarmati jail. Bishnoi has been linked to a previous shooting incident involving Bollywood actor Salman Khan, a close friend of Baba Siddique.
The suspects had reportedly been surveilling Siddique for months, conducting reconnaissance on his residence and office. They were allegedly paid ₹50,000 each in advance for the hit, with the firearms delivered just days before the attack.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde assured the public that the third suspect would be apprehended soon, stating, “We won’t spare anyone, whether it’s the Bishnoi gang or any underworld group.”
