Mumbai Police Chargesheet Reveals Salman Khan as Primary Target in Baba Siddique’s Murder

Mumbai, 7th January 2025: A police chargesheet filed on Monday revealed that actor Salman Khan was the primary target of the gang behind the murder of NCP politician Baba Siddique on October 12.

According to the chargesheet, the assassination of Siddique was a backup plan after an initial attempt to eliminate Khan failed due to the actor’s security detail.

The document stated that Siddique became a target of the Bishnoi gang because of his connections to Khan and alleged links to global terrorist Dawood Ibrahim. The police further indicated that vengeance for the custodial death of Anuj Thapan, a key figure involved in a previous firing incident targeting Khan, also played a role in the decision to target the actor and his associates.

The original plan was to target either Siddique or his son, Zeeshan, or both, during the Ganpati visarjan procession. However, the plan fell apart as neither of them attended the event.

On October 12, Baba Siddique was leaving Zeeshan’s office in Nirmal Nagar, Bandra (East), just five minutes after his son had left. He was gunned down shortly after stepping outside, near the Nirmal Nagar police station.

The chargesheet named 26 individuals who were arrested in connection with the case and identified three absconding suspects: Mohammad Yasin Akhtar alias Sikandar, Shubham Lonkar alias Shubbu, and Anmol Singh Bishnoi alias Bhanu.

The police investigation revealed that Bishnoi orchestrated the murder as part of a calculated strategy to establish dominance, instill fear, and expand his extortion activities. Despite extensive investigations, the 4,590-page chargesheet, filed by the anti-extortion cell before the special MCOCA court, did not mention jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, with sources indicating that there was no concrete evidence linking him to the murder.

An official from the police department stated, “Though we recorded statements from several developers, nothing substantial came from it. Our primary evidence comes from a social media post by Shubham Lonkar, which claimed responsibility for the shooting two days after it occurred.”

The chargesheet annexed a copy of the Facebook post attributed to ‘Shubuu Lonkar Maharashtra,’ which read: “Salman Khan, we never wanted this war, but you caused harm to our brother. Today… we will surely respond, though we never attacked first.”

The post hinted at tensions between the Bishnoi gang, Siddique, and Khan, referencing the infamous 1998 black buck poaching incident involving Khan during the filming of Hum Saath Saath Hain. It also alleged that Siddique had ties to Dawood Ibrahim, suggesting that the murder was a retaliatory act for the death of Anuj Thapan.

The police revealed that during the investigation, they seized two motorcycles, 35 mobile phones, five illegal weapons, and recorded statements from over 40 witnesses, including eight persons before a magistrate. Investigators also claimed that the Bishnoi gang received ₹17 lakh via hawala channels from Anmol Bishnoi for the execution of the murder.

A police officer explained, “The shooters were misled into believing that Siddique was involved with Dawood Ibrahim and had a role in the custodial death of Anuj Thapan—although Thapan’s death was ruled a suicide. They were promised large financial rewards for carrying out the attack.”