Baba Siddique murder case: Police probe gang, political rivalry angles; 1 more held

One accused in police custody till Oct 21, his accomplice claims to be minor

MUMBAI: In a significant breakthrough, the Mumbai police arrested a 28-year-old man, Pravin Lonkar, from Pune on Sunday, accusing him of playing a key role in the assassination of former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique. Lonkar and his brother, Shubham Lonkar, allegedly recruited two of the three suspected shooters involved in the high-profile killing, according to officials from the Mumbai Crime Branch. While Pravin is now in custody, authorities are still searching for his brother, Shubham.

This arrest marks the third in the ongoing investigation into Siddique's assassination, which has shaken political and public circles alike. The Mumbai Police have launched a massive investigation into the killing, exploring various angles including a possible contract killing, business rivalry, or threats related to a slum rehabilitation project.

Siddique, aged 66, a former Congress leader who had recently joined Ajit Pawar's faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), was gunned down outside his son Zeeshan Siddique's office in Kher Nagar, Bandra, on Saturday night. The former legislator was waylaid by three gunmen as he left the office premises and shot at point-blank range. It was the first high-profile political murder in Mumbai in the last three decades. Despite being rushed to Lilavati Hospital, Siddique was pronounced dead on arrival. Preliminary investigations revealed that the Lonkar brothers were instrumental in bringing two of the shooters into the assassination plot. The police have so far apprehended one of these shooters, a resident of Uttar Pradesh, along with another alleged assailant, Gurmail Baljit Singh, aged 23, from Haryana.