Murder of Baba Siddique: Absconding aide of the main suspect held in Jalandhar

The Jalandhar Rural Police have arrested a notorious criminal with close links to Zeeshan Akhtar, a close associate of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang who is wanted for the murder of NCP leader and former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique.

The arrested suspect has been identified as Vishal Sabharwal from Nakodar and has been evading arrest since 2021 in a case related to an extortion call from ₹30 lakh to a drug dealer from Jalandhar.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Harkamalpreet Singh Khakh said as per the initial investigation, Vishal had no direct link with Siddique’s murder but he remained associated with one of the suspects, Akhtar, who is an accused in the murder.

“The case dates back to September 2021, when the suspect made a WhatsApp call with notorious female drug trafficker Rano and demanded extortion from ₹30 lakh and threatened to kill her son, Sher Kumar, if she did not hand over the amount,” Khakh said.

He added that five other gang members – Ankush, Zeeshan Akhtar, Gagangdeep Singh and Karnail Singh – were earlier arrested in connection with the case.

“The suspect has a history of serious criminal activities and will appear in court to apply for police custody,” the SSP added.

It may be mentioned that the name Zeeshan, who hails from Shankar village in Jalandhar, came up in the murder of Siddique, who was shot dead on October 12. His sister and mother had already died. He was arrested by the Jalandhar Rural Police on July 6, 2022, under the Arms Act and a theft case and lodged in Kapurthala and Patiala jails before being granted bail in June this year. He was released on bail in June this year and did not return to his village.