In the high-profile Baba Siddiqui murder case, a big breakthrough has been achieved with the apprehension of the main shooter linked with the notorious Lawrence Bishnoi gang, Shiv Kumar, alias Shiva. The Uttar Pradesh STF had apprehended Shiv Kumar with four associates on 10 November 2024. Shiv Kumar and four associates were apprehended in the Bahraich district by coordinated efforts by the STF and the Mumbai Crime Branch.
About the Apprehended Individuals:
Shiv Kumar Gautam alias Shiva, s/o Bal Kishan Gautam, main shooter, from village Gandara, Kaiserganj, Bahraich.
Anurag Kashyap, brother of shooter Dharmaraj Kashyap, shelter provider, from village Gandara, Kaiserganj, Bahraich.
Gyan Prakash Tripathi, shelter provider, from village Gandara, Kaiserganj, Bahraich.
Akash Srivastava, shelter provider, from village Gandara, Kaiserganj, Bahraich.
Akhilendra Pratap Singh, shelter provider, from village Gandara, Kaiserganj, Bahraich.
The arrest came at the Harabahasari canal culvert in Nanpara of Bahraich around 6:00 p.m. on November 10, 2024. Police followed a tip off in which they were told that Shiv Kumar was ready to cross over to Nepal with the help of his aides.
Background of Baba Siddiqui Murder Case
On October 12, 2024, former Maharashtra government minister and close aide to Bollywood actor Salman Khan, Ziauddin Abdul Rahim Siddiqui alias Baba Siddiqui, was shot dead outside the office of his son, MLA Zeeshan Siddiqui, in Khernagar, Thane, Mumbai. Three unknown shooters carried out the attack. Two suspects were arrested – Dharmaraj Kashyap and Gurmel Singh, while the third shooter, Shiv Kumar, escaped from the scene.
Probing the incident, it was found that the assassination had been planned by Lawrence Bishnoi, a notorious gangster who is in jail presently. Shubham Lonkar from Maharashtra and Mohd. Yasin Akhtar from Jalandhar were found to be the contact persons who finalized logistics and conveyed the timeline of Baba Siddiqui’s movement to the killers.
STF-Mumbai Crime Branch Joint Effort
Acting on formal complaint received from the Mumbai Police on October 23, 2024, STF Uttar Pradesh conducted an intelligence-gathering operation. STF team was accompanied by a joint team of the Mumbai Crime Branch. Intelligence-led them to Nanpara in Bahraich.
The joint operation was concluded on November 10, 2024, when Shiv Kumar and his associates were apprehended while trying to infiltrate Nepal. STF Sub-Inspector Javed Alam Siddiqui, Chief Constable Munendra Singh, Constable Ajit Kumar Singh, and Mumbai Crime Branch Inspector Amol Kumar have taken part in this operation.
Confessions and Findings
Shiv Kumar revealed in interrogation his involvement in the murder. He accepted that he and his village associate, Dharmaraj Kashyap, had reached out to Lawrence Bishnoi’s network. Shiv described that Lawrence Bishnoi’s network had assured him INR 1 million for the murder and also extra monthly remunerations. Shubham Lonkar, an owner of a scrap shop near Shiv’s in Pune, was an intermediary who gave Shiv the contact number of Lawrence Bishnoi’s brother, Anmol Bishnoi, on Snapchat.
The shooters received arms, cartridges, SIM cards and mobile handsets from handlers Shubham Lonkar and Mohd. Yasin Akhtar to carry out the murder. Post the murder Shiv Kumar had discarded his mobile handset and had crossed over several districts; Shiv Kumar had eventually ended up in Bahraich, from where he plotted his escape route to Nepal.
The five accused have now been lodged in Nanpara Police Station in Bahraich, which awaits further legal course by the Mumbai Crime Branch.
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