New Delhi: Former minister and MLA Baba Siddique’s murder in Mumbai was more than merely a typical gangland killing. It was a carefully planned operation, which was orchestrated by an international crime syndicate, with the execution carried out by fresh recruits lured into a web of greed and manipulation, as per the police chargesheet, Times of India reported.
The migrant, impoverished youths recruited for the killing were attracted by the mystique of Lawrence Bishnoi, who presented himself as a social vigilante and a huge admirer of the revolutionary, Bhagat Singh. Two of the accused revealed that Bishnoi’s admiration for Bhagat Singh played a pivotal role in their decision to get involved in the job. For the others, grappling with financial hardships, the lure of huge money was the main motivation.
Of 26 arrested accused, six have given detailed confessions
Among the 26 arrested for the murder, six of the accused have given detailed confessions before a magistrate, which are included in the police chargesheet. The statements bring to the fore a plot that involved recruiting shooters, careful planning, execution, and the direct involvement of the fugitive gangster Anmol Bishnoi. All six have expressed regret for their actions.
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In his statement, Shivkumar Gautam, who has been mentioned as the main shooter, said that in June 2024, Shubham Lonkar, a wanted accused, got in touch with him and his aide Dharamraj Kashyap. Lonkar reportedly told the duo they could earn Rs 10-15 lakh if they carried out a job. Lonkar told them that the job was to murder either Baba Siddique or his son, Zeeshan Siddique.
Gautam pointed out that Lonkar motivated them by saying that the targets had ties to Dawood Ibrahim and were engaged in bomb blasts. Gautam, an impoverished migrant from Uttar Pradesh, had recently found work in the scrap trade and met Lonkar through Kashyap. He was desperate to earn a large sum of money, and so he agreed to take up the job and started making a team.
‘I regret everything’
In his statement, Gautam also said that he thought that he could get away with the murder and didn’t think about the consequences of his actions. He added that now he knows — crime only leads to two things: death or jail. “I regret everything. I wish I had never taken the money.”
Another aide Harishkumar Kashyap, who hails from Bahraich in UP, had shifted base to Pune in 2016 to carry out a job with his brothers in the scrap business. In 2020, he opened the Balaji Scrap Center, however, business was not picking up. He was in desperate need of money, and began hobnobbing with criminals in the Karve Nagar area, including Shubham Lonkar, who had links with Anmol Bishnoi. He was lured into the job, and told them they were planning to eliminate a Dawood associate involved in bomb blasts. Kashyap was offered Rs 10 lakh for joining in.
In his statement, Kashyap said that greed made him blind. He thought he was only assisting his friends and didn’t realise that he was helping murderers. Kashyap added that he wanted to grow his business, but now he will languish behind bars.
