A Mumbai court has remanded Pravin Lonkar, the third person arrested in connection with the murder of NCP leader and former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique, to police custody until October 21, as reported by PTI.
Lonkar was detained in Pune on Sunday by Mumbai Police. He is accused of recruiting the two shooters involved in Siddique’s fatal shooting, which occurred on Saturday night in Bandra.
During the court hearing, the police sought extended custody for further interrogation, aiming to uncover the full conspiracy behind this high-profile murder case.
Public Prosecutor SN Vaidya claimed that Lonkar’s brother, Shubham, has connections with imprisoned gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and is suspected of orchestrating the attack by providing firearms to the shooters.
Authorities have indicated that Lonkar may need to be taken to Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Bihar as part of a deeper investigation.
Lonkar’s defense lawyer disputed these allegations, claiming that his client is being used as a “scapegoat” while the authorities continue their search for Shubham. The defense argued that while the case is serious, there is insufficient evidence to support the conspiracy charges against Lonkar, who runs a dairy business.
Two shooters, Gurmail Baljit Singh and Dharmaraj Rajesh Kashyap, are already in custody, while another suspect, Shivkumar Gautam, remains on the run. Police have recovered two pistols and 28 live rounds from those arrested.
On Sunday, the court also placed Singh in custody until October 21. Kashyap had initially claimed to be a minor, but an ossification test confirmed he is an adult, leading to his remand in police custody.
Baba Siddique was attacked by three assailants outside the office of his son, MLA Zeeshan Siddique, on Saturday during Dussehra celebrations. He was later pronounced dead at Lilavati Hospital.
A well-known figure in Mumbai’s political scene, Siddique was laid to rest with State honors on Sunday night, attracting a large gathering of citizens and political leaders.
After a long association with the Congress party, Baba Siddique, who represented the Bandra West constituency as an MLA in 1999, 2004, and 2009, joined Ajit Pawar’s NCP earlier this year. He gained recognition for his work in providing life-saving medications during the COVID-19 pandemic.
He was also known for his close relationships with several major Bollywood stars, including Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, and Sanjay Dutt.
