Police suspect Baba Siddique’s murder was pre-planned

Mumbai: The murder of NCP leader and former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique is suspected to be a pre-planned act, a Mumbai police official said on Sunday.

Police have also said the crime branch has launched a probe into the case from different angles, including a possible contract killing, business rivalry or threat over a slum rehabilitation project.

While two of the alleged assailants have been arrested, another accused is on the run and efforts are on to trace him, police said.

The arrested accused have been identified as Gurmail Baljit Singh (23), resident of Haryana, and Dharmaraj Rajesh Kashyap (19), native of Uttar Pradesh, as per the police.

A case has been registered against the three accused under relevant Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections, including for murder, as well as provisions of the Arms Act and the Maharashtra Police Act, they said.

Baba 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 shot at, an official said.

He was taken to the Lilavati Hospital in Bandra where he was declared dead.

After the incident, a forensic team visited the crime spot and collected samples and police were checking CCTV footage of the nearby spots to get more information about the attack, the official said.

The shooters opened four to five rounds of fire from a 9.9 MM pistol which was recovered by police, he said.

Multiple teams have been set up by the Mumbai police for a probe into the case.

Some teams have also been sent out of Maharashtra to nab the third accused who is at large, the official said.