Backup shooters trained in Jharkhand linked to Baba Siddique’s murder plot

The Mumbai Crime Branchrsquos investigation into the murder of NCP leader Baba Siddique has revealed that contract killers had multiple backup shooters ready in case Shivkumar Gautam Dharmraj Kashyap and Gurmail Singh failed in their attempt Officials discovered that some of these killers travelled to Maoistaffected areas in Jharkhand to receive training with AK47s Police suspect that Shubham Lonkar may have collaborated with local Maoist groups to facilitate this training for the shootersldquoThe Maoist link is not confirmed but given the location of their training we are exploring this possibility It appears Lonkar wanted to prepare them as a backup plan in case the initial shooters failedrdquo said a Crime Branch officerAccording to the Mumbai Crime Branch the conspiracy to assassinate Nationalist Congress Party NCP leader Baba Siddique was plotted shortly after a shooting incident outside Salman Khanrsquos residenceThe key conspirator Shubham Lonkar allegedly began preparing for the attack on Siddique after receiving instructions from Lawrence Bishnoirsquos brother Anmol Bishnoi who is believed to be detained in the USInitially the contract to eliminate Siddique was assigned to accused Ram Kanojia who sourced a weapon smuggled from Udaipur Rajasthan Kanojiarsquos gang including shooters Rupesh Mohol Karan Salve and Shivam Kohad conducted a recce of Siddiquersquos locationsOfficials stated that Kanojia aware of Siddiquersquos political prominence demanded R1 crore for the job a sum Lonkar was unwilling to payInvestigations later revealed that aside from the financial dispute Kanojiarsquos shooters were unable to carry out the assassination despite conducting a reconnaissance in midAugust Consequently Lonkar hired Shivkumar Gautam Dharmraj Kashyap and Gurmail Singh who executed the killing on October 12 after a monthlong surveillance of Siddiquirsquos movementsldquoThe instruction to the shooters was clear Siddique should not survive after being hitrdquo an officer said ldquoUnlike the firing outside Salman Khanrsquos house which was intended as a scare tactic this time an Austrianmade Glock pistol and a Turkish pistol were used The killers arrived fully prepared carrying approximately 60 live roundsrdquoOfficials have so far recovered five weapons and approximately 65 live rounds Crime Branch sources revealed that Shubham Lonkar had arranged additional backup shooters in case the three who ultimately carried out the assassination failedInvestigators have now discovered that other shooters including Rupesh Mohol and Gaurav Apune travelled to Hatia railway station in Jharkhand from Pune on July 28 accompanied by Lonkar Police have obtained digital tickets as evidence of their journeyOfficials believe that had the initial attempt failed Lonkar might have equipped the backup shooters with more powerful weapons including AK47s ldquoWersquore investigating how they accessed these weapons and who else might be involved Itrsquos also unclear why they travelled so far to Jharkhand for training especially when some other shooters received junglebased training near Karjat We conducted searches there but found nothingrdquo the officer addedMain shooter arrestedShivkumar Gautam the alleged main shooter involved in Baba Siddiquersquos killing has been arrested from Uttar Pradeshrsquos Bahraich district The Mumbai Crime Branch in collaboration with the UP Special Task Force STF apprehended Gautam who had been absconding for the past month According to the Crime Branch Gautam fired three rounds at Siddique two of which struck him in the chestJoint Commissioner of Mumbai Crime Branch Lakhmi Gautam confirmed the arrest calling it a major breakthrough ldquoThe accused was arrested in a joint operation with the UP STF and marks significant progress in our investigationrdquo he saidSources reveal that a team of 26 officers from the Mumbai Crime Branch led by API Amol Mali played a crucial role in tracking and capturing Gautam Mali had been tailing Gautam since he initially went into hiding The team reportedly reviewed hundreds of CCTV recordings tracing Gautamrsquos movement to Bahraich where he was planning to flee to Nepal Stationed in Bahraich for the past month the team meticulously monitored Gautamrsquos movements ldquoWe received information indicating he was hiding in a forest near Bahraich As we gathered more intelligence additional teams were dispatched leading to his arrest along with that of several associates who were aiding his escape to Nepalrdquo an officer involved in the operation explainedIn addition to Gautam four othersmdashAnurag Kashyap Gyan Prakash Tripathi Akhilesh Srivastava and Akhilendra Pratap Singhmdashwere also arrested from Bahraich The total number of individuals apprehended in connection with the case is 23 The UP STF has confirmed that the shooting was planned on the instructions of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi