1 More Arrested, Another Detained In Baba Siddqiue Murder Case; But Why Mum Cops Not Getting Lawrence Bishnoi’s Custody?

Bahraich: The Mumbai Police on Tuesday arrested one person and detained another in Uttar Pradesh’s Bahraich in connection to the killing of NCP leader Baba Siddique, reports claimed.

Cops apprehended Harishkumar Balakram (23), a resident of Bahraich, who has a scrap shop in Pune, the ANI reported. They also detained one Anurag Kashyap, the brother of the arrested accused Dharmaraj Kashyap.

The report stated that Harish had been accused of giving money to Dharmaraj Kashyap, Shivprasad Gautam and Anurag Kashyap. He had also been accused of providing them with a rented home in Mumbai’s Kurla and a bike.

“He (Harish) was part of the conspiracy, he supplied money and other logistics. Further investigation is underway,” the Mumbai Crime Branch sleuths told ANI.

Harish had also bought a new mobile for Shivprasad Gautam and Dharmaraj Kashyap, a few days before they killed Siddique.

According to reports, so far, four people – Dharmaraj Kashyap, Gurmail Singh (23) and Pravin Lonkar and Subham Lonkar had been arrested in the case. Investigation into the matter is underway.

After the leader was killed, in a purported social media post, the Lawrence Bishnoi gang had calimed the responsibility for the firing outside actor Salman Khan’s house in April and now former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique’s killing.

Why Mumbai Police can’t get Lawrence Bishnoi’s custody?

But, despite such leads the Mumbai Police had not been able to get custody of Lawrence Bishnoi, who is lodged in a Gujarat’s Sabarmati jail. According to reports, the Mumbai Police had filed several applications to get the custody of Bishnoi, but they were denied. This happened, as a NDTV report claimed, because of a Home ministry order barring the gangster’s transfer.

Bishnoi was moved to the Sabarmati jail from Delhi’s Tihar in August 2023. This was in connection with a drug smuggling case. The Ministry of Home Affairs had issued an order under Section 268 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) stating that no state or agency could seek his custody for a year.

The order was supposed to be in effect till August this year. But, reports claimed the order was been extended for another year. The Bishnoi gang made national headlines after claiming responsibility for killing Sidhu Moose Wala in 2022.

Why did Bishnoi gang ‘kill’ Siddique?

A member of the gang, who was taken into custody, had reportedly said the murder of Siddique on was its handiwork as the latter was linked to India’s most wanted terrorist Dawood Ibrahim. The gang also claimed that they targeted Siddique for being close to Salman Kha. The gang had been upset with Khan for his alleged involvement in shooting blackbucks at Bawad in Mathania near Jodhpur in September 1998. The Bishnoi community considers the blackbuck sacred.