Bishnoi Gang’s Main Target Was Salman Khan, Murdered Baba Siddique As Plan B As Revealed In Mumbai Police Chargesheet

The Mumbai Police Crime Branch has filed a 4,590-page chargesheet in the Special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court against 26 individuals in the murder case of former Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Baba Siddique.

The chargesheet identifies Anmol Bishnoi, brother of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, as the mastermind behind the killing, which occurred on October 12 in Bandra East.

Salman Khan was the main target

The investigation revealed that the Bishnoi gang originally targeted Bollywood actor Salman Khan but shifted focus to Siddique after failing to execute their plan due to Khan’s heightened security. Siddique, considered close to Khan, was also falsely linked to global terrorist Dawood Ibrahim by the gang to justify their actions.

What was the plan?

The chargesheet states that the gang had planned to kill Siddique and his son Zeeshan Akhtar during Ganpati Visarjan. However, the plan was futile as neither of them participated.

On October 12, Siddique was shot dead outside Zeeshan’s office in Nirmal Nagar, Bandra East, just an hour after his son had left the premises.

According to the chargesheet, the hawala channel had sent a sum of ₹17 lakh to execute the murder. The killers had been given wrong information that Siddique was a culprit in the custodial death of Anuj Thapan, a gangster who was also accused in a previous attempt to kill Khan.

It was proved during the probe that Thapan was not killed due to custodial torture but was a case of suicide.

Police have arrested 26 people in the case, and three main accused, Mohammad Yasin Akhtar alias Sikandar, Shubham Lonkar alias Shubbu, and Anmol Bishnoi alias Bhanu, are still not arrested.

What was in the Chargersheet?

The chargesheet has included a large amount of evidence, including forensic findings, digital communication records, and a social media post by Shubbu claiming responsibility for the killing.

An annexure to the chargesheet contains a Facebook post by Lonkar, which says: “Salman Khan, we never wanted this war, but you caused harm to our brother. Today… we will surely respond, though we never attacked first.” This post referred to the 1998 blackbuck poaching case against Khan, which is considered a grave offense by the Bishnoi community.

Police recovered two motorcycles, five illegal weapons, 35 mobile phones, and took statements from over 40 witnesses. However, investigators dismissed any link between the murder and SRA projects in Mumbai, with an earlier claim put forward by Zeeshan Akhtar.

No Evidence Against Lawrence Bishnoi

Contrary to speculation, police found no evidence in the case implicating jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi. An officer said, “We have not found any link between Lawrence Bishnoi and the murder.

The plot was solely done by Anmol Bishnoi and his associates to gain supremacy and expand their extortion racket.

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