Five people were nabbed from Bahraich in Uttar Pradesh on Sunday for the murder of NCP leader Baba Siddique. The arrests included shooter and key accused Shiva Kumar as well as four associates. The group had been trying to cross the border into Nepal when they were caught in a joint police operation.
Former Maharashtra MLA Baba Siddique was shot dead by three assailants outside his son and current MLA Zeeshan Siddique's office building in Mumbai. He was rushed to a local hospital with two bullet injuries to the chest on October 12 and passed away later that night.
Two of the shooters — identified as Gurnail Singh and Dhramraj Kashyap — had been caught soon after the incident while Shiv Kumar remained on the run.
According to reports the now-arrested shooter had fled to Omkareshwar in Madhya Pradesh after the murder. The Mumbai Police had remained hot on his trail but failed to catch him.
Officials had then begun tracing the movements of approximately 45 people deemed close to Kumar. They eventually zeroed in on four people that appeared to be constantly in contact with the fugitive.
According to reports, the investigation was triggered by their ‘suspicious’ activities — from purchasing clothes in various sizes to planning a meeting with Kumar in a remote forest about 10 kilometres from Nanpara on bikes. The police later discovered that they were intending to assist Gautam in fleeing the country via Nepal and laid a trap.
A team comprising 6 officers and 15 personnel conducted the joint operation with Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF). UP Police ADG Amitabh Yash told reporters in Lucknow that the accused had been trying to flee into Nepal at the time. The four others, namely Anurag Kashyap, Gyan Prakash Tripathi, Akash Srivastava and Akhilendra Pratap Singh, have been arrested for sheltering Shivkumar and helping him escape.
(With inputs from agencies)
