New Delhi: Three-time MLA Baba Siddique was gunned down in Mumbai last week. His MLA-son Zeeshan Siddique was also reportedly on the Bishnoi gang’s hit-list.
The assailants have told the cops that they were given a contract to kill both Baba Siddique and Zeeshan, police sources have said.
According to sources, the shooters were told that the father-son duo would be there at the site on Saturday evening. However, if they don’t get an opportunity to shoot at them together, they were directed to gun down whoever they could spot first, the sources said.
“Zeeshan Siddique had received threats a few days before the incident occured. The accused told during interrogation that both Zeeshan and Baba Siddique were on the target and they were ordered to fire on anyone they found,” news agency ANI quoted the Mumbai Police as saying.
According to a report, both Baba Siddique and Zeeshan were about to leave office when Zeeshan received a phone call. Zeeshan left the office first and Baba Siddique after five minutes when he was shot dead.
Zeeshan Siddique, a Congress MLA representing Vandre East, was expelled from the party months ago after allegations of cross-voting during the legislative council polls.
Teams deployed to nab Shivkumar
Three assailants — Gurmail Baljit Singh, a resident of Haryana, Dharmaraj Kashyap of Uttar Pradesh and Shivkumar Gautam from Uttar Pradesh — executed the murder of Baba Siddique outside his son’s office on Saturday night. They threw chili powder at the police constable guarding the former MLA. While Gurmail and Dharmaraj have been arrested, Shivkumar is still on the run. He was spotted somewhere near Panvel on Monday morning.
Police teams have been fanned out in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi to arrest Shivkumar while Mumbai Police’s Anti-Extortion Cell carries out investigation into the case.
Initial probe has brought to the fore the fact that the three assailants had rented a flat in Kurla and they used to commute from Kurla to Bandra every day, mostly in auto rickshaws. They undertook recce of the places Baba Siddique and his son used to go to.