New Delhi: The Mumbai Police told a special court that Anmol Bishnoi, the younger brother of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, has been identified as the main conspirator in the murder of NCP leader Baba Siddique, a Times of India report said.
The claim was made as the cops demanded the remand of eight suspects in the murder case under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). Special MCOCA court judge AM Patil gave police custody of the eight accused, including the alleged primary shooter, Shivkumar Gautam, until December 7.
Three-time MLA and former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique was shot dead on October 12 by three assailants in front of his son Zeeshan Siddique’s office in Bandra East. Baba Siddique received two bullet wounds to the chest, and was immediately taken to Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai where he died.
At present, Anmol Bishnoi is under detention in the United States and lodged in a jail there. He has been named as a wanted suspect in the investigation of Baba Siddique’s killing. During the remand proceedings, the Mumbai Police contended that their investigation has identified Anmol Bishnoi as the key figure behind the murder plot.
Police claim that Anmol Bishnoi offered financial aid to the other suspects, and further investigation is required to trace the source and use of these funds. They added that Anmol had communicated with the co-accused through a messaging application, and additional probe into this communication is required, and therefore, the custody of the arrested persons is necessary.
26 suspects arrested till now
Till now, the crime branch has arrested 26 suspects in connection with the case, including the alleged prime shooter, Shivkumar Gautam. Earlier, all of the suspects had been put in judicial custody by a magistrate’s court. On November 30, MCOCA provisions was invoked by the police against all 26 accused, who were later presented before the special court on Tuesday. But, before the court session started, the judge asked scribes present in the courtroom to leave the courtroom after the prosecution raised an objection, citing sensitive details in the application for remand. The police urged further custody of the eight accused, including Gautam, for a more detailed probe into the case.
Defence lawyers Roopesh Jaiswal, Ajinkya Mirgal, and Dilip Shukla objected the plea. They contended that the suspects had already been detained for over 40 days. They added that the provisions of MCOCA did not apply, as there were no past cases against the accused and no proof with links to any gang with two charge sheets, which is necessary for invoking MCOCA.
The court heard both sides and then ordered police custody for the eight accused until December 7, while the rest of the suspects were placed in 14-day judicial custody. In addition to Anmol Bishnoi, another person, Shubham Lonkar, has also been identified as a wanted suspect in the murder case.
