Baba Siddique murder: Another accused, claimed to be aide to Lawrence Bishnoi, held in Punjab

Last updated:Nov 16, 2024 5:06 PM IST

The arrested suspect is an associate of the Lawrence Bishnoi Gang and provided logistical assistance to the gunmen involved in the killing of the NCP leader.

Police have arrested one person, Akash Gill, a resident of Fazilka. (Image: X/ @DGPPunjabPolice)

The Anti Gangster Task Force of the Punjab Police on Saturday arrested a man in connection with the murder case of former Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Baba Siddique.

The suspect, identified as Akash Gill, a resident of Fazilka in Punjab, was arrested in a joint operation with Maharashtra Police.

Preliminary investigations have revealed that the arrested suspect is an associate of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang and provided logistical assistance to the gunmen involved in the killing of the NCP leader.

The Crime Branch officials said this is the 24th arrest in the case and a team is working on bringing him to Mumbai.

Police said his role came to light during interrogation of the other arrested suspects, for which a team was sent to Punjab.

Police said the suspect has appeared before a court in Punjab and is being taken to Mumbai on judicial custody. “Singh will appear before the local court in Mumbai again on Sunday,” an officer added.

On October 12, the 66-year-old NCP leader was shot dead by three assailants near the Bandra office of his son, MLA Zeeshan Siddique. Crime Branch sources revealed that chief gunman Shiv Kumar Gautam remained at the crime scene for almost 20 minutes after the attack.

The Mumbai Crime Branch and the Uttar Pradesh Police Special Task Force (STF) arrested chief gunman Shiv Kumar Gautam alias Shiva along with his aides near the Nepal border from Nanpara, Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh during a joint operation.

Police have so far arrested 24 people in connection with the murder case.

Gurmail Singh, a resident of Haryana and Dharamraj Kashyap from Uttar Pradesh, along with Shiva Kumar, were the other two who accompanied Shivam in Siddique’s murder.

Another accused, Shubham Lonkar, had undergone weapons training in the dense forests near Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh, in July. Officials believe Lonkar trained with an AK-47 under Maoist command, although this connection remains under scrutiny.

Anmol, the younger brother of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, who is believed to live in Canada, is believed to be behind the killing but the motive remains unclear, police said.