MUMBAI: Two days after the killing of NCP leader Baba Siddique, the Mumbai Police has stepped up security outside superstar Salman Khan’s Galaxy Apartment in Bandra.
The plot to kill Siddique is said to have been hatched by Lawrence Bishnoi, who is jailed in Gujarat’s Sabarmati jail and runs his crime syndicate from behind bars. Bishnoi is also allegedly behind a firing incident outside actor Salman Khan’s residence on April 14. His gang members have repeatedly threatened the superstar.
Salman Khan is known to have been a close friend of Siddique. Meanwhile, Pravin Lonkar, the brother of a key conspirator in the case, was produced in a Mumbai court and sent to police custody till October 21.
Pravin along with his brother Shubham “enlisted” two of the three alleged shooters in the Siddique murder case, an official said. The police called Pravin Lonkar a “co-conspirator” and said they were looking for his brother Shubham. This is the third arrest in the Siddique murder case.
The killing of Baba Siddique was meticulously planned, police sources said on Monday.
Siddique, a three-time former MLA and former state minister, was coming out of his son and Bandra East MLA Zeeshan Siddique’s office when the three shooters fired multiple rounds at him on Saturday night. He sustained multiple injuries and was pronounced dead during treatment.
The Lonkar brothers drafted two alleged shooters -- UP resident Dharmaraj Kashyap and Shivkumar Gautam. While Gautam is on the run, the police have arrested Kashyap and another alleged shooter, identified as Gurmail, a native of Haryana. The official said police went to Pune looking for Shubham Lonkar but did not find him there.
Three culprits
Three persons are said to have shot the NCP leader dead at Kher Nagar in Mumbai’s Bandra area outside his MLA son Zeeshan Siddique’s office on Saturday