In a statement to the police, 23-year-old Shivkumar Gautam, also known as Shiva, explained the sequence of events that unfolded after he shot Siddique. He said that after carrying out the attack, he didn’t immediately flee the scene. Instead, he took an autorickshaw to Lilavati Hospital, where he blended in with the crowd, hoping to hear whether the former NCP leader had survived. Tragically, Siddique was declared dead upon arrival at the hospital.
Shiva’s escape from the scene was swift. Along with his two accomplices, he fled the area immediately after the shooting. However, his efforts to cover his tracks didn’t end there. He later changed into a fresh shirt and disposed of his bag and the firearm under a parked car before returning to the crime scene, likely hoping to gauge the chaos caused by the attack. According to the police, this move was part of his plan to make sure that his “job” had been done properly.
Meanwhile, two other suspects, Dharmaraj Kashyap (21) and Gurmail Singh (23), were quickly apprehended by the police right after the shooting. But Shiva managed to slip through their grasp. The authorities later found the discarded bag, which contained the weapon used in the crime, a Turkish Tisas pistol, more than two dozen bullets, and Shiva’s shirt, two days after the attack.
Shiva’s next move was equally calculated. From the hospital, he took another autorickshaw to Kurla railway station, from where he made his way to Thane and boarded a train heading for Pune. It’s worth noting that Shiva had been working in Pune for two years at a scrap dealer’s shop and was familiar with the area, which helped him evade immediate capture.
The police’s investigation into the murder of Baba Siddique has been extensive, with 23 arrests made so far. They have pieced together information suggesting that the three shooters had planned a rendezvous at Ujjain railway station, in case they got separated after the crime.
As for Shiva, his motives appear to have been financially driven. Sources reveal that he was promised a significant reward for carrying out the murder: Rs 10 lakh, a foreign trip, and monthly expenses once the job was done. This offer likely motivated him to follow through on the deadly mission.
Additionally, new information has surfaced about the other suspects involved in the plot. Two of the arrested men, Gaurav Apune and Rupesh Mohol, alongside a wanted accomplice, Shubham Lonkar, are believed to have received training in the use of assault rifles, including the AK-47. It is alleged that they traveled to a forest area in Jharkhand for this purpose. The police are currently verifying these claims to better understand the group’s preparation for the crime.
The case continues to unfold, with police working to track down more individuals involved in the conspiracy to murder Baba Siddique. As of now, Shiva remains in custody, and authorities are piecing together the final details of the plot that led to the tragic loss of a prominent political figure.
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