The Mumbai police crime branch filed a charge sheet on Monday against 26 individuals arrested in connection with the murder of Ziauddin Abdul Rahim Siddique, also known as Baba Siddique, a prominent Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and former Maharashtra minister. The charge sheet names three individuals as wanted suspects, including Anmol Bishnoi, the younger brother of incarcerated gangster Lawrence Bishnoi.
The police investigation reveals that Anmol Bishnoi, the leader of an organised crime syndicate, was the mastermind behind the murder, orchestrating the killing in a bid to establish dominance in Mumbai. Mohammed Yasin Akhtar, also known by several aliases, and Pune-based Shubham Rameshwar Lonkar are also identified as key conspirators.
The murder occurred on the night of October 12, 2024, outside the Bandra East office of Siddique’s son, Zeeshan Siddique. The 66-year-old politician was shot while leaving the building around 9:15 p.m., accompanied by a police guard. Three assailants, armed with sophisticated pistols, had been tracking Siddique. As he walked to his car, one of the assailants, identified as Shivkumar Gautam, opened fire, hitting Siddique with three fatal shots to the upper body.
Despite being rushed to Lilavati Hospital, Siddique succumbed to his injuries within an hour. Following the shooting, Gautam fled the scene, disposing of his T-shirt and the firearm used in the attack before briefly returning to the hospital, where the politician was pronounced dead. Gautam’s accomplices, Dharmaraj Kashyap and Gurmail Singh, were later caught by police while attempting to escape.
The charge sheet paints a detailed picture of the planned execution and the individuals involved in this high-profile killing, with further investigations ongoing into the remaining suspects.
