Mumbai police have made a significant breakthrough in the investigation of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Baba Siddiqui's murder, with the recent arrest of a fourth suspect. The latest to be apprehended is 29-year-old Amit Hisamsing Kumar, a resident of Nathwan Patti, near Goga Madi temple in Batta village, Kalayat Taluka, Kaithal District, Haryana. Despite the growing list of arrests, the case remains unresolved as three key suspects—Zeeshan Akhtar, Shiv Kumar Gautam, and Shubham Lonkar—are still at large.
Baba Siddiqui, aged 66, was fatally shot on October 12 outside the office of his son, Zeeshan Siddiqui, who is a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA), in Mumbai's Bandra area. Although he was rushed to Lilavati Hospital, Siddiqui was pronounced dead on arrival. Investigations have revealed that the murder was planned in Pune, with brothers Pravin and Shubham Lonkar playing pivotal roles in the conspiracy. The Lonkar brothers are believed to have financed the shooters and arranged meetings to orchestrate the attack, providing the gunmen with a photo and flex banner of Siddiqui to ensure proper identification.
Shubham Lonkar, who is still evading capture, is reported to have sourced the firearms and recruited the shooters, including Shivkumar Gautam, Dharmaraj Kashyap, and Gurmail Singh, offering them hefty payments in exchange for the assassination. Each shooter was paid an advance of ₹50,000 and given a motorcycle to monitor Siddiqui’s movements before the attack. On the night of the murder, the shooters remained in close contact with their handlers. Gautam, still on the run, is alleged to have opened fire on Siddiqui, while Kashyap and Singh stood behind him. After the shooting, Kashyap reportedly sprayed an unidentified substance on Siddiqui. While Kashyap and Singh were captured at the scene in Bandra, Gautam managed to escape. Authorities are now intensifying efforts to track down Gautam, Shubham Lonkar, and alleged handler Mohammad Yasin Akhtar.