Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Baba Siddique's death shook the nation.
On the evening of 12 October, while Dusshera celebrations were at its peak in Bandra's Kherwadi, three attackers got off a car shot at the senior leader while he was walking to his son and MLA Zeeshan Siddique's office along with three contables who were a part of his security team.
The attack, in which several of the accused are found to have links with the gang of Lawrence Bishnoi, took place while Siddique was under Y security. About two weeks before the attack, Siddique had also received a threat to his life, sources said.
But what is shocking is the nature of the attack on a busy Bandra street. How was the attack carried out? Who were the attackers? How could it take place while he was with his security personnel? Here's everything that's been revealed so far:
Accused Carried Pepper Spray, Fired From Close Range
The Mumbai police told a sessions court that the three attackers, Gurmail Singh (23) from Haryana, Dharmaraj Kashyap (19) from Uttar Pradesh, and Shivkumar Gautam (25) were lodged in a jail in Haryana when they were given the 'supari' (contract) of murdering Siddique.
The three accued reportedly lived in Mumbai and Pune for about two months before they executed the attack. For a month before the attack, they also rented a room in Kurla for Rs 14,000, the police said.
It remains uncler when and how the three acused were released from jail, who exactly gave them the contract, and who provided the guns for the attack.
While Gurmail Singh and Dharamraj Kashyap have been arrsted, the third shooter, Shivkumar Gautam is still absconding. The police, meanwhile, have arrested Pravin Lonkar (29) from Pune as one of the co-conspirators.
According to the Mumbai Crime Branch, two pistols and a pepper spray were recovered from the accused. The initial plan was to use the pepper spray on Siddique before firing shots, but one of the accused fired directly, the crime branch said, as quoted by ANI.
While speaking to the media in the wee hours of Sunday, Dr Jalil Parkar of the Lilavati hospital said that Siddique did not have a recordable pulse and dropping blood pressure after he was brought to the hospital at around 9.30 pm.
"The first ECG was a flatline. We tried to resuscitate him and the doctors in casualty and emergency tried their best but they could not revive his pulse. We shifted him to the ICU and even gave him medications to get his blood pressure up. He passed away at about 11.25 pm," Parkar said.
"He had two bullet wounds which had passed through his chest. He was shot at a very close range," he said.
The History of the Three Attackers: What We Know So far
Gurmail Singh (Shooter):
Hailing from Narada village in Haryana's Kaithal, Gurmail has a criminal history and was released on bail three months ago.
Speaking to the media, his grandmother Phulo Devi said that he was estranged from the family for the past 11 years and did not know that he was in Mumbai.
"Both his parents are dead. He had no connections with us. What can old grandparents do?" she said.
Singh was jailed in another murder case in 2019 and was out on bail. His family said that they do not know who bailed him out.
"He is dead for us. We are dead for him. Some time ago he went to jail in a murder case. We don't know as to how he came out of jail and who got him out. Gurmail may be shot. We have nothing to do with him," she said, as quoted by PTI.
Shubham Lonkar (Co-conspirator):
In a now deleted post, a screenshot of which is viral on social media, Pravin's brother Shubhuu aka Shubham Lonkar gave 'reasons' behind the attack and hinted at links to Lawrence Bishnoi's gang.
In the post, Shubham labelled the attack as a satkaram and claimed that it was carried out to 'avenge their friend'.
"For the ones singing praises for Siddique today - he was once accused under MCOCA along with Dawood (gangster Dawood Ibrahim). The reason behind his killing was Anuj Thapan and establishing Dawood's links into Bollywood, politics, and property dealings," Shubham said in the post said.
Anuj Thapan was one of the three accused who had fired shots at Bollywood actor Salman khan's house, died in police custody in May this year after he allegedly attempted suicide.
Indirectly blaming Siddique for Thapan's death and further warning "anybody trying to help Salman Khan," Shubham said: "We will react is anybody kills one of our own."
While Siddique was known to have close ties with the Bollywood actor, Shubham had reportedly joined the Bishnoi gang in Rajasthan a few years ago.
Pravin Lonkar:
Brother of Shubuu Lonkar, Pravin allegedly sheltered Gurmail Singh and Kashyap in Pune.
According to Hindustan Times, Pravin and Shubham ran a dairy business in Warje-Malwadi.
Originally from Akola, Shubham was also reportedly arrested in January 2024 for allegedly supplying firearms. The Akola police also told HT that they had found records of calls on his phone from members of the Bishnoi gang, including Lawrence's brother Anmol.
Shiv Kumar Gautam & Dharmaraj Kashyap:
Gautam and Kashyap, both from Uttar Pradesh, were living in Pune's Warje and working as a scrap dealers for the past few years.
Speaking to ANI, his mother said: "There wasn't a fixed time when he would come and go. About two months ago, he said he was going to Pune to work as a scrap dealer."
She further said that they had spoken about a month ago and there was no other regular contact with him.
Zeeshan Akhtar:
Hailing from Jalandhar, Akhtar was arrested in 2022 by the Punjab police and has ties with both Lawrence Bishnoi and Pune-based gangster Saurabh Mahakal, according to India Today.
Mahakal was questioned by Mumbai police in the past in connection with allegedly threatening Salman Khan in the past.
Akhtar, too, was recruited by Lawrence's gang while he was in prison. Following his release from prison on 7 June, Akhtar reportedly met Gurmail in Haryana, the report stated.
While Gurmail Singh, Kashyap, and Pravin Lonkar have been arrested, all other accused are still absconding. Four police teams have been dispatched to Pune, Haryana, Delhi, and Ujjain in order to nab the other accused, the police said.
(With inputs from India Today, Hindustan Times, and Loksatta.)
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