Bhopal, Oct 13: A Mumbai Police team reached Madhya Pradesh on Sunday on the trail of an accused allegedly involved in the murder of NCP leader and former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique, an official said.
Mumbai Police have so far arrested two persons. They suspect the involvement of more persons in the murder.
“A team of Mumbai Police in collaboration with MP police is looking for the accused (who hails from Bahraich in Uttar Pradesh). They suspect he might be hiding in MP and searching him in Ujjain district and Omkareshwar (in Khandwa district) of MP,” a police officer told PTI.
Nobody has been traced till 7:30 PM, the officer said, adding that the suspect is apparently on the move.
The 66-year-old NCP leader was waylaid by three persons at Kher Nagar in Mumbai’s Bandra area just outside his MLA son Zeeshan Siddique’s office and shot at on Saturday night. He was rushed to the Lilavati Hospital where he was declared dead, according to Mumbai Police.
Mumbai Police have set up 15 teams which are fanned out of Maharashtra and the investigation is on to identify who provided logistical support to the shooters, a crime branch officer told reporters in Mumbai in the evening.
Two pistols and 28 live rounds were recovered from the two accused arrested so far.
BJP train guns over murder: opposition
The murder of NCP leader Baba Siddique in Mumbai’s upscale Bandra triggered a fiery exchange between the opposition and BJP on Sunday even as a viral social media post claimed Lawrence Bishnoi gang’s role behind the shocking crime.
A court here remanded one of the two accused arrested in the case in police custody till October 21 and directed the cops to conduct a bone ossification test to determine the age of the second accused after he claimed to be a minor.
Police told the court they wanted to probe if the case was the fallout of political rivalry since Maharashtra assembly polls are around the corner.
The Congress led the opposition attack demanding a thorough investigation into the ex-MLA’s killing and said Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis should take moral responsibility for “law and order failure” in the state and resign.
The BJP slammed the opposition for indulging in “petty politics” over the murder. Siddique’s party chief and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar said the murder should not be politicised.
The Congress alleged that the BJP-led Mahayuti government in Maharashtra has failed to protect its own leaders and the people of Mumbai who feel scared, claiming it was trying to postpone the election dates through these incidents.
“It is a Government that is on its last legs. With this, the countdown for its exit has begun,” Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said on X.
His party chief Mallikarjun Kharge and senior leader Rahul Gandhi said the Maharashtra government must take responsibility and order a thorough and transparent investigation.
“The tragic demise of Baba Siddique ji is shocking and saddening. My thoughts are with his family in this difficult time. This horrifying incident exposes the complete collapse of law and order in Maharashtra. The government must take responsibility, and justice must prevail,” Gandhi said on X.
“Justice must be ensured, and the present Maharashtra Govt must order a thorough and transparent investigation. The culprits must be brought to book at the earliest. Accountability is paramount,” Kharge posted on the social media platform.
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, Congress’ alliance partner in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in Maharashtra, said each move of the Shinde government is looked upon with suspicion – “like the two arrests made in the murder of Siddique and even the police encounter of Badlapur sexual assault case accused Akshay Shinde”.
Sharad Pawar, whose NCP (SP) is another MVA partner, said there is a need to take responsibility over the incident and for the rulers to step down. He said Fadnavis is only keen on attaining power even when such serious incidents have taken place.
AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal said people across the country are “scared” by the killing of Siddique, and gangsters have created an almost similar atmosphere in Delhi.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin said such acts have no place in civil society, while RJD leader and former Bihar deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav pointed to the “crumbling” law and order situation in Maharashtra. (PTI)
