Exclusive | Baba Siddique murder case: Eyewitness gets extortion call

Two men who were close to the late NCP leader Baba Siddique said they received threat calls from unknown numbers The alleged harassment began just days after the political heavyweight was assassinated by three shooters linked to jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi in Bandra East on October 12An officer attached to Khar police station said ldquoThe unknown callers apparently belong to Bishnoirsquos gangrdquoBaba Siddique and his son Zeeshan outside the Legislative Assembly File picSayyed Sameer AbediOne of the men Iqbal Shaikh an eyewitness in the murder case on October 31 registered an FIR at Khar police station after a caller demanded R5 crore as protection money Another victim Shoaib Khan approached the Nirmal Nagar police who registered a noncognisable NC offenceAccording to the FIR registered under section 308A Extortion of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita BNS 2023 Shaikh received the extortion call from an unknown number and the caller told him ldquoTu paanch khoka ready kar le nahi to tere ko bhi tere boss Baba Siddique ke paas pahucha dengehellipthik hai na Tera case bhi usi crime branch ke pass investigation ke liye jaega jaha tere boss ke case ka investigation chal raha hairdquoThe complainant has submitted the following transcript of the extortion call to the authoritiesUnknown caller Tera details aaya hai mere paashellip tera address family kahellip tera bada bhai Shakeel police ka khabri haihellip chhota bhai saara tere family me kaun hai kiddar rehta hai kya karta hai kis car me jata haihellip saara mere pass pada hai I have got the entire details of your address and family Your elder brother is a police informer I have the details of your younger brother too I know who all are there in your family membershellipI have everythingIqbal Shaikh Acchha OkUnknown caller Kya kaam dhandha karta hai thik hai na Baat ye hai ki tu paanch khoka ready kar le nahi to tere ko tere boss ke paas pahucha denge thik hai na I know what business you are in okay So keep R5 crore ready else you will meet the same fate as your boss Baba Siddique okayShaikh Acchha acchha achha thik hai OkayUnknown caller Abhi mere ladke dekh pehle tere boss ko marne aaye the jiska tu paisa manage karta hai naBaba Siddique ka See earlier my shooters were sent to kill your boss and you manage his money rightShaikh Haan YesUnknown caller Uska kaam kiya abhi tu matt soch tu bach jaegahellipabhi teri baari hai Abhi tere liye bhi ladke bej dunga thik hai na sahi hai Jo karna hai kar le apne bhai ko bol le ki police ke jitne link hai laga lehellipthik hai na Crl mall ke bahar baithe hote ho na tum log Abhi tere ko bata dia thik hai Tujhe police ke paas jana hai chala ja apne bhai ko bol de uske paas jaa ke meri baat karwa diyohellippata karwa liyo kaun bol raha hai kaha se bol raha haihellip sab pata chal jaega You have managed his money so donrsquot think that you will be spared Now itrsquos your turn I will send my shooters for you okay Do whatever you wanthellip tell your brother to use his all police contactshellip I am aware that you guys sit outside Crl mallhellip I have told you everything okay If you want to go to the police go if you want to tell your brother tell himhellip connect me when you go to your brotherhellip get my details like who and from where I am yoursquoll get everythingShaikh Kaha se bol rahe ho aap From where you are callingUnknown caller Number dekh le tru pe daal ke dekh le chahe police ke paas jaakehellip tera bhai police ka khabri hai na Bol usko pata kar lega kaun bol raha hai thik hai Check this number on tru you will get to know everything Or you can go to police your brother is their informerhellip tell your brother to get the details who I am okayShaikh Thik hai OkayUnknown caller To abhi paanch khokha ready kar le thik hai Nahi to tere ko bhi boss ke paas pahucha denge thik hai na Tere case ka bhi investigation wohi chalela crime branch me jaha tere boss ka chal raha haihellip abhi tere ko iske baad ek aur call karunga dubara call nahi aega meri thik hai So now you keep R5 crore ready okay Else you will also meet the same fate as your boss and your case will also be investigated by the same crime branch whose officers are probing into your bossrsquos murder case is that okay After disconnecting I will call you once more and then I will not call again is it okayShaikh Thik hai OkaySources in the Khar police station told midday that a police constable has been deployed to Shaikhrsquos building where a few suspects were seen clicking photographs a few days ago ldquoThe caller seems to be associated with the Lawrence Bishnoi gang Since itrsquos an extortion case we have handed over the matter to the crime branch for further investigationrdquo said the officer at Khar police station requesting anonymityEarlier incidentMeanwhile Khan said that he received an unknown call from a Pakistanbased number within a week of Siddiquersquos murder ldquoI am a social worker and was working with Baba Siddique to help get the poor admitted to government hospitals On October 18 I received a call from a Pakistanbased number and the caller said he would kill merdquo Khan saidldquoI immediately approached the Nirmal Nagar police station to register an FIR but the police filed an NCrdquo he saidKhan added that the caller had used an image of a police officer for his display picture ldquoAfter I met the officers at Nirmal Nagar police station I was told to make a video call to the same number The unknown caller responded but he blinded the camera lens to conceal his face When he saw a policeman he disconnected the call immediatelyrdquoldquoI am in constant fear My entire family is terrified I have demanded police protection but the cops have not even registered an FIRrdquo he addedldquoShoaib Bihari bol raha kya Malum hai na tera baap Baba Siddique gayahellip ab tu jaegahelliptaiyaari kar lehellipaur tere char bete bhi jaenge Are you Shoaib Bihari Do you know that your father Baba Siddique is no more Now it is your turn so get ready Your four sons will also be killedrdquo reads Khanrsquos complaint letter which he wrote to all the senior officials of Mumbai police chief minister and Maharashtra home minister