Baba Siddique shooters wanted to target Salman Khan, too, but failed

During the investigation into the murder of Baba Siddique it has emerged that Bollywood actor Salman Khan was also a target of the same shooters The Crime Branch revealed that the shooters intended to target Khan However they failed to execute their plan due to the actorrsquos tight security arrangements Unable to carry out the attack on Khan the shooters turned their focus to Siddique and his son ZeeshanOn October 12 they managed to kill Baba Siddique but Zeeshan narrowly escaped as he had left his office just minutes before the assassination The investigation is ongoingAccording to sources the shooters were given three targets which include former Bandra East MLA Zeeshan Siddique and Bollywood actor Salman Khan who has been getting threats since the black buck poaching casePolice security outside Galaxy Apartments Salman Khanrsquos house on September 19 File picShadab KhanldquoDuring the investigation details have emerged indicating that Bollywood actor Salman Khan was also a target Certain statements and digital evidence have surfaced supporting thisrdquo an officer from the Mumbai Crime Branch told midday on condition of anonymityWhen asked if the shooters had conducted a recce of the actorrsquos residence the officer said ldquoIt appears that they visited the actorrsquos house once but found heavy security The actor enters his car from inside the building with no access for outsiders to get close to him Due to these challenges the shooters abandoned their plan and focused solely on the SiddiquesrdquoDue to threats from the Bishnoi gang Salman Khanrsquos security has been significantly increased While the actor was already under the Y category security the number of police personnel assigned to him was raised following the assassination of Baba Siddique Currently around 50 to 60 police personnel are deployed for his protection along with two escort vehicles effectively providing security equivalent to the Z category However his security is not officially classified as ZMCOCA invokedThe Mumbai Crime Branch recently invoked the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act MCOCA naming Anmol Bishnoi brother of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi as a wanted accused According to police the motive behind the murder appears to be Siddiquersquos close association with actor Salman Khan Based on the details provided by the Indian agencies Anmol has been detained by the police in California USWhile Zeeshan Siddique has claimed that the murder could be linked to a Slum Rehabilitation Authority SRA dispute the police have found no substantial evidence to support this angleldquoWe cannot conclusively determine the motive until the wanted conspirators are apprehended However the investigation so far points to the actorrsquos close relationship with the Siddiques as the primary reasonrdquo an officer explainedShooters misledThe investigation has revealed that shooters Shiv Kumar Gautam Gurmail Singh and Dharmaraj Kashyap were heavily brainwashed by Anmol Bishnoi to carry out the murder They were falsely told that Anuj Thapan arrested in a case involving gunfire outside Salman Khanrsquos residence was killed in police custody due to the influence of Siddique and Khan Additionally they were misled to believe that Siddique had links with fugitive gangster Dawood IbrahimDuring interrogation shooter Gautam claimed Siddiquersquos alleged connection with Dawood as a justification for the murder However the Crime Branch clarified to him that these accusations were baseless and that no records linked Siddique to Dawood Realising he had been deceived Gautam admitted ldquoI was fooled into doing the jobrdquo50 to 60No of cops deployed for Salmanrsquos security