One of the suspects currently on the run in the murder of senior NCP leader and former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique was previously questioned by Mumbai Police in connection to the shooting incident outside Bollywood actor Salman Khan’s house in April this year.
Shubham Lonkar, the brother of another suspect in Siddique’s murder, was released by the police due to a lack of evidence in the shooting case.
In April, multiple shots were fired outside Salman Khan’s home in Mumbai’s Bandra by two men on a motorbike. The police claimed these shooters were from the Lawrence Bishnoi gang.
Lonkar, who is reportedly associated with the jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, was among those questioned by police after the shooting at Khan’s Galaxy Apartment, NDTV reported citing sources. Apparently, Lonkar’s name was mentioned by several people interrogated in the case. Although he was accused of providing shelter to the shooting suspects, he was released due to insufficient evidence.
Shubham, Pravin Lonkar ‘key conspirators’ in Siddique’s murder
Meanwhile, in latest development on Siddique’s murder case, Lonkar and his brother, Pravin Lonkar, have been identified as key conspirators by the police.
They allegedly recruited two of the shooters, Dharamraj Kashyap and Shiv Kumar Gautam, who opened fire on Siddique. Pravin was arrested on Sunday in Pune.
Prosecutors also allege that Shubham and other wanted suspects conspired in the shooting and supplied weapons to the gunmen who attacked the 66-year-old politician.
Siddique, a prominent Muslim leader and a former Maharashtra minister who joined the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in February after leaving Congress, was shot dead on Saturday just outside his son Zeeshan Siddique’s office in Kher Nagar, Mumbai.
Siddique was well-known in Mumbai and had connections with various Bollywood stars, including Salman Khan.
So far, four individuals have been arrested in connection with Siddique’s murder. Earlier arrests included Haryana resident Gurmail Baljit Singh (23) and Uttar Pradesh native Dharmaraj Rajesh Kashyap (19), both alleged shooters, along with co-conspirator Pravin.
On Tuesday, the fourth suspect, identified as Harishkumar Balakram (23) from Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh, was arrested. He is accused of providing financial and logistical support to the shooters. Balakram, who worked as a scrap dealer in the Warje area of Pune, was apprehended by a crime branch team in Bahraich on Monday and brought to Mumbai on Tuesday morning.
(With inputs from agencies)
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