Baba Siddique murder: Mumbai Police probing social media post claiming Lawrence Bishnoi gang role

The Mumbai Police is verifying the authenticity of a social media post claiming to be from the Lawrence Bishnoi gang member, taking responsibility for the murder of Maharashtra NCP leader Baba Siddique.  

“We have seen the viral social media post. Verifying authenticity and context,” a senior police officer was quoted as saying by TOI.

After Siddique was shot dead on Saturday night outside his son Zeeshan Siddique’s office in Bandra, Mumbai, a post went viral on Facebook from an individual named Shubuu Lonkar, claiming to be an aide of Bishnoi. 

The post seemingly quoted renowned poet Ramdhari Singh Dinkar and claimed responsibility for the murder. 

“Salman Khan, we did not want this war, but you harmed our brother. Baba Siddique’s chapter has closed today, or he was once under the MCOCA Act with Dawood. The reason for his death is Anuj Thapan and Dawood, who were to be linked with Bollywood, politics, and property dealings. We have no enmity with anyone, but whoever helps Salman Khan and the Dawood gang will have to settle their accounts,” read the Facebook post. 

DISCLAIMER: WION cannot independently verify the authenticity of the below media. 

According to reports, Shubuu Lonkar may actually be Shubham Rameshwar who was arrested earlier this year from Maharashtra’s Akola for possession of illegal weapons and is believed to have strong connections with the Bishnoi network. 

According to the police, three personnel were deployed for Siddique’s security but he was not under any categorised security protection. 

The Crime Branch also revealed that a total of six rounds of bullets were fired at Siddique, out of which three hit him. The three accused shooters had done recce of Siddique’s house and office premises, and they were in Mumbai for a few months to keep an eye on him.

The police had earlier arrested the two accused—Karnail Singh from Haryana and Dharamraj Kashyap from Uttar Pradesh. While Singh has been sent into police custody, Kashyap has claimed that he is a minor, prompting the court to order an ossification test.

Shiv Kumar alias Shiva Gautam, a resident of Uttar Pradesh and neighbour of Dharamraj as well as Zeeshan Akhtar remain at large. A fifth accused named Pravin Lonkar, the 28-year-old brother of Shubham Lonkar, was been arrested from Pune on Sunday evening. 

Siddique, was a leader of the NCP-Ajit Pawar faction. Prior to joining NCP, he was a longtime member of Congress before resigning from the party earlier this year. He was known to be close to several Bollywood stars and was graciously received on all sides of the political divide. 

It is perhaps one of the reasons why his death has invited strong reactions from both the ruling and opposition parties as well as big film stars. The state of Maharashtra goes to polls later this year and some experts believe the killing may have serious repercussions on the ultimate outcome. 

He was laid to rest with full state honours on Sunday evening at Bada Qabrastan in Mumbai. 

(With inputs from agencies)