India
Main gunman in Baba Siddiqui murder arrested from Bahraich | India News – Times of India
The arrested were Shiv Kumar Gautam, alias Shiva – resident of Gandara village, Kaiserganj, Bahraich (main gunman), Anurag Kashyap – resident of Gandara village, Kaiserganj, Bahraich (brother of gunman Dharmraj Kashyap, assistant), Gyan Prakash Tripathi – resident of Gandara village, Kaiserganj, Bahraich (assistant/helper) and Akash Srivastava – resident of Gandara village, Kaiserganj, Bahraich (assistant/helper) and Akhileshendra Pratap Singh – resident of Gandara village, Kaiserganj, Bahraich (assistant/helper).
STF said that on the night of October 12, 2024, three unknown gunmen killed Ziauddin Abdul Rahim Siddiqui, popularly known as Baba Siddiqui, near the office of his son, Zishan Siddiqui, in Khairnagar, Thane, Mumbai. Baba Siddiqui, a former Maharashtra minister and close associate of actor Salman Khan, was killed in a well-orchestrated attack.
The murder was registered at Nirmal Nagar police station, Thane, Mumbai. During the investigation, two gunmen, Dharmraj Kashyap and Gurmel Singh, were arrested but one of the gunmen, Shiv Kumar, managed to escape.
The arrested gunmen revealed that the murder was committed on the orders of notorious gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, who is currently serving a prison sentence. Bishnoi’s associates, Shubham Lonkar from Maharashtra and Mohammad Yaseen Akhtar from Jalandhar, were identified as the handlers who provided logistics and information about the victim’s location.
On October 23, 2024, Mumbai Police requested assistance from the Uttar Pradesh STF to arrest Shiv Kumar and other fugitives involved in the murder.
During this operation, information emerged that Shiv Kumar was hiding in Bahraich and planning to escape to Nepal.
On November 10, 2024, the STF team, in collaboration with the Mumbai Crime Branch, gathered crucial information from a tip-off and proceeded to the Nainapara area of Bahraich.
According to the information, Shiv Kumar and his accomplices were preparing to flee to Nepal and were hiding near Harabhasri Nahar Pulliya. It was at this location that the STF and Mumbai crime teams arrested Shiv Kumar and four others.
Deputy SP of STF Pramesh Shukla said that during interrogation, Shiv Kumar revealed that he and Dharmraj Kashyap were from the same village and had previously worked together in Pune in the scrap business.
“Shiv Kumar also disclosed that he had been in touch with Shubham Lonkar, who worked for Lawrence Bishnoi. Through Snapchat, he communicated with Anmol Bishnoi, Lawrence’s brother, who instructed him to carry out the murder in return for a promised payment of Rs 10 lakh and continued financial support,” Shukla said.
Shiv Kumar further explained that he and his fellow gunmen, including Dharmraj, were involved in surveillance of Baba Siddiqui for several days before carrying out the murder on the night of October 12, 2024. He also mentioned that the attack took place during a festival , which helped them blend into the crowd, resulting in the arrest of two of the gunmen while Shiv Kumar managed to escape.
After fleeing Mumbai, Shiv Kumar traveled through Pune, Jhansi and Lucknow before reaching Bahraich. He had been in constant contact with his escorts and accomplices throughout the journey. According to Shiv Kumar, his associates, Anurag Kashyap, Gyan Prakash Tripathi, Akash Srivastava and Akhileshendra Pratap Singh, had made arrangements for his escape to Nepal.
