Mumbai: Five Arrested in Baba Siddique Murder Case Withdraw Rs 50 Lakh Hit Demand
Mumbai, 19th October 2024: The Mumbai Police, investigating the murder of Baba Siddique, disclosed that the five suspects arrested recently initially sought ₹50 lakh for the hit but later withdrew their demand due to payment disputes and concerns regarding the influence of the Nationalist Congress Party leader.
Despite backing out, the suspects continued to offer logistical and other support to those responsible for the murder, according to unnamed officials. On Friday, the crime branch apprehended these five individuals for allegedly providing firearms and logistical assistance to the shooters, raising the total number of arrests in the case to nine.
Three main suspects remain at large. The arrested individuals are Nitin Gautam Sapre (32), Sambhaji Kisan Pardhi (44), Pradeep Dattu Thombre (37), Chetan Dilip Pardhi (27), and Ram Fulchand Kanoujia (43). Sapre is from Dombivli, while Pardhi, Thombre, and Pardhi are from Ambernath in Thane district, and Kanoujia hails from Panvel in Raigad, as reported by the police.
During their questioning, authorities discovered that Sapre’s group had initially demanded ₹50 lakh from a mediator to execute the assassination of NCP leader Baba Siddique. However, due to disagreements regarding the contract, they decided to withdraw their involvement, PTI quoted an official on Saturday.
The official further noted that Sapre understood the implications of targeting a high-profile politician like Baba Siddique and recognized that it would pose significant challenges for his group. Consequently, they chose not to proceed with the killing.
However, the accused opted to provide logistical support to new shooters and offer additional assistance, the official added. Investigators found that Sapre’s group maintained contact with conspirator Shubham Lonkar and mastermind Mohammed Zeeshan Akhtar right up until the shooting.
Authorities are now looking into whether Shubham and Akhtar facilitated the plot against the NCP leader of Sapre’s group through the Lawrence Bishnoi gang.
Previously, police arrested four individuals, including alleged shooters Gurmail Baljit Singh (23) from Haryana and Dharmaraj Rajesh Kashyap (19) from Uttar Pradesh, along with Harishkumar Balakram Nisad (23) and Pravin Lonkar, Shubham Lonkar’s brother, from Pune. Baba Siddique (66), a former Maharashtra minister, was shot dead on the night of October 12 outside the office of his MLA son, Zeeshan Siddique, in Mumbai’s Bandra area. The primary shooter, Shivkumar Gautam, along with Shubham Lonkar and Mohammed Zeeshan Akhtar, remains at large, and the police have issued a lookout circular for the three fugitives.
