Baba Siddique murder case: Shooters had talked to Lawrence Bishnoi’s brother Anmol Bishnoi via Snapchat

Baba Siddique murder case: The suspected three shooters talked to jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi's brother, Anmol Bishnoi, via Snapchat moments before killing the NCP leader and former Maharashtra Minister Baba Siddique, reported ANI, citing the Mumbai Crime Branch.

The three suspected shooters who committed the murder had connected to Lawrence Bishnoi's brother, Anmol Bishnoi, via an instant messaging app (Snapchat) before the assassination. Anmol Bishnoi used to communicate with the murderers via Snapchat from Canada and America. The accused shooters would receive messages from Bishnoi and instantly delete them after receiving instructions, according to the Mumbai Crime Branch.

“The three suspected shooters who committed the murder had talked to Anmol Bishnoi through an instant messaging app (Snapchat) before the murder. Anmol was in contact with the accused from Canada and America; four mobile phones have also been seized from the accused,” ANI quoted the crime branch's statement.

So far, per an ANI report, nearly ten people have been arrested in the Baba Siddique murder case, including two suspected shooters and a weapon supplier. Shivkumar Gautam, considered the primary shooter, and a few others involved in the assassination are still absconding.

“The accused were in touch with each other through Snapchat, and after receiving the instruction message, they would delete it immediately. Similarly, when the Snapchat of the arrested accused was closely examined, it was found that the shooters and Praveen Lonkar were directly in touch with Anmol Bishnoi,” the statement added.

Baba Siddique murder

NCP leader Baba Siddique was shot dead in Mumbai on October 12. Later, Lawrence Bishnoi's gang took responsibility for the high-profile murder. The politician had close ties with Bollywood superstar Salman Khan, who is already a target of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang for his involvement in the Black Buck killing case. Days after Baba Siddique's murder, the Lawrence Bishnoi gang also gave an open threat of killing Salman Khan.

The Mumbai police are investigating the matter of Baba Siddique's death and death threat to Salman Khan. In a separate update, Mumbai Police on Tuesday said that the shooters involved in the NCP leader's murder engaged in at least five practice sessions before executing the attack.

“The shooters practised shooting in a forest located on Karjat-Khopoli Road before targeting Baba Siddique. The accused practised by shooting at a tree in the forest near Palasadari village near a waterfall on Karjat-Khopoli Road,” Mumbai Police said.