Mumbai Police have discovered a photograph of Zeeshan Siddique, the son of slain Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Baba Siddique, on the phone of one of the accused in the murder case. The 66-year-old former Maharashtra minister was shot dead on October 12 outside his son’s office in Nirmal Nagar, Bandra, during Dussehra celebrations. According to reports, the attackers are related to the renowned Lawrence Bishnoi gang.
The police investigation has revealed that the photo of Zeeshan was shared with the shooters via Snapchat by their handler. The conspirators and assailants used the platform, which automatically deletes messages after viewing, to communicate and share sensitive information, making it harder for authorities to trace their activities.
The Snapchat Connection
The police stated that the photograph of Zeeshan Siddique was sent to the killers as part of their preparation for the attack. The app’s self-deleting messages feature allowed the shooters to communicate covertly and avoid leaving behind evidence that could be easily traced.
The murder occurred when Baba Siddique was celebrating Dussehra by bursting firecrackers outside his son’s office. Of the three shooters involved, Gurmail Singh and Dharmaraj Kashyap were arrested on the day of the crime, while the third assailant, Shivkumar Gautam, remains at large.
A Well-Planned Assassination
The shooters had been preparing for weeks before carrying out the assassination. According to reports, they lived in a rented apartment in Mumbai’s Kurla area, where they spent nearly a month learning to use firearms by watching tutorial videos on YouTube. During this time, they communicated with their handlers through Snapchat and Instagram to evade detection.
The gang’s connection to Bollywood actor Salman Khan also came to light during the investigation. The Lawrence Bishnoi gang, which has been issuing threats to Khan for years, claimed responsibility for Baba Siddique’s murder through a viral Facebook post. The post alleged that Siddique’s ties to Salman Khan and his rumored connections to underworld figure Dawood Ibrahim made him a target.
Gang’s Mastermind and Arrests
Yogesh alias Raju, a 26-year-old shooter associated with the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, was arrested in Uttar Pradesh’s Mathura. During interrogation, he reportedly revealed that Baba Siddique had links to Dawood Ibrahim. Three police officers have since been suspended after a video of Yogesh speaking to the media while in custody went viral.
Another suspect, Ram Kanojia, disclosed to the police that he was initially offered the contract to assassinate Baba Siddique for a sum of ₹1 crore. However, after Kanojia and his associates backed out, the task was handed to Dharmraj Kashyap, Gurmail Singh, and Shivkumar Gautam. These men, who hailed from Uttar Pradesh, were reportedly selected because they were unfamiliar with Baba Siddique’s stature in Maharashtra and were willing to commit the murder for a lower fee.
Growing Threat from the Lawrence Bishnoi Gang
The Lawrence Bishnoi gang has become a growing menace, with the group being linked to several high-profile crimes, including threats against Salman Khan. Earlier this year, two unidentified men opened fire outside Khan’s Mumbai residence, while in 2022, he received a handwritten death threat warning him that he would meet the same fate as Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala, who was killed in May of that year by the Bishnoi gang.
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