‘Blood of lion runs in my veins’: In message to Baba Siddique killers, son Zeeshan says ‘fight is far from over’

Congress MLA Zeeshan Siddique — the son of slain NCP leader Baba Siddique — insisted on Sunday that he stood ‘ready’ and ‘relentless’ to face all adversity. The assertion came mere hours after the Mumbai Police said that it had a found a photograph of the politician within the phone of one of the people arrested for the murder of his father.

“They silenced my father. But they forget - he was a lion—and I carry his roar within me, his fight in my veins. He stood for justice, fought for change and withstood the storms with unwavering courage. Now, those who brought him down turn their sights on me assuming they’ve won, to them I declare: The blood of a lion runs in my veins. I am still here, unafraid and unbroken. They took one, but I rise in his place. This fight is far from over. Today, I stand where he stood: ALIVE, RELENTLESS and READY,” the MLA wrote on X.

Baba Siddique was shot outside his office in Nirmal Nagar earlier this month. He sustained two gunshot wounds to the chest and was taken to Mumbai's Lilavati Hospital for emergency treatment and eventually succumbed to his injuries late on October 12.

The Mumbai Police made their tenth arrest in the case on Sunday as the crime branch continues to probe the murder. A scrap dealer was nabbed from Navi Mumbai for allegedly providing a weapon to shooters and remanded to police custody till October 26.

The police also said five of the newly-arrested accused had demanded ₹50 lakh for the killing, but backed out later due to disagreement over payment and in consideration of the NCP leader's clout.

The suspected shooters in the custody of police are Gurmail Baljit Singh (23) and Dharmaraj Rajesh Kashyap (19). The main shooter, Shivkumar Gautam, and two other persons involved in the murder conspiracy are on the run.

(With inputs from agencies)