Baba Siddique murder: Cops zero in on big SRA project

Sant Dnyaneshwar Nagar in Bandra Kurla Complex on Friday. Pics/Anurag Ahire

After it emerged that the Crime Branch is looking into certain SRA projects in Bandra East following Zeeshan Siddique's cryptic statement that his father died protecting the homes of the poor, mid-day spoke to residents of Sant Dnyaneshwar Nagar in Bandra East, who demanded that the SRA should redevelop the project without delay. However, all of them sought homes in the same locality. Siddique and his son were against the project and the latter had also forcibly stopped the survey in July 2024.

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The Crime Branch has sought files related to Sant Dnyaneshwar Nagar and the adjoining Bharat Nagar from the SRA in connection with Baba Siddique's murder.

Sahebali Shaikh, member, Aman Shanti Sahakari Sanstha Grah Niyojit Society

Around 5,200 people live in Sant Dnyaneshwar Nagar. Since 2002-2003, many developers visited their area, aiming to redevelop it, but no progress has been made. Residents stated that they need proper houses at the same location and the survey should be completed. Zeeshan had claimed that the land was being surveyed illegally and the Kherwadi police registered an FIR against him for preventing a survey from being carried out in August. Residents believe that his father's killing is linked to this contentious issue.

Residents speaks

Madhukar Chavan, a member of Vakratunda Welfare Society at Sant Dnyaneshwar Nagar, said, "We want houses in this very location. We are not against the developer or the SRA. We have been living here for more than 35 years. We are ready to work with any developer who will give us flats here. We want proper houses. There have been many fights here over the survey. Zeeshan, too, had come to here to help us in our fight against illegalities and we supported him."

Residents of the area, who wish to be housed in the same locality

Jay Ram Rathod, a member of Jay Durgamata Rahivashi Seva Sangh, said, "Baba Siddique and Zeeshan were protecting us. In March, we had a meeting with them. Now we have lost Baba Siddique, who was god for us. We believe our project is now in danger. We don't know how or when it will be developed. All we want is transparency."

Madhav Chougule, a member of Sant Dnyaneshwar Nagar Rahivashi Sangh, said, "We need peace in the area. Many people have come here to threaten us into supporting a particular builder. We don't want strife. We are only concerned about our homes. Whichever builder takes up the project, they should give us flats in the same location. We had told Zeeshan this and he supported us. We are certain that Zeeshan will support us till the SRA project is developed legally."

(Left) Jay Ram Rathod, member, Jay Durgamata Rahivashi Seva Sangh and Mohammad Irfan Yusuf Shaikh, member of Sant Dnyaneshwar Nagar Raju Nagar Rahivashi Seva Sangh.

Mohammad Irfan Yusuf Shaikh, a member of Sant Dnyaneshwar Nagar Raju Nagar Rahivashi Seva Sangh, said, "A politician selected seven residents to represent locals in a bid to redevelop the SRA project. We had no problem with this but demanded that they mention in writing that flats would be given to us at the same location and that the stamp duty and registration would be taken care of. But, they refused to give us a written agreement. Later, they forced us to comply and started an illegal survey."

Sahebali Shaikh, a member of the Aman Shanti Sahakari Sanstha Grah Niyojit Society said, "There are a total of 75 houses in our slum. We demanded flats in this location itself. Zeeshan is with us and we are sure he will always support us. The FIR registered against Zeeshan is based on false allegations. We have been treathened because we are against the illegal survey and illegal development of the area. They [politicians and builders] are sending goons here to intimidate us. We need justice. We constructed houses in Sant Dnyaneshwar Nagar in 1994 and have been staying here ever since. We have the receipt of a census carried out in 2000 by the BMC and Mhada."

Bablu Shaikh, a member of the Manav Ekta Society, said, "We were against the survey because they were doing it illegally. We have the receipt of the 2000 census but the SRA does not have all documents in its records. Our 2001 election records are also missing from government records. We suspect that SRA deleted our names from its records. We don't want money to purchase new homes and can't afford to rent flats. Nobody is
supporting us."

5,200
No. of people who live in Sant Dnyaneshwar Nagar

The incident that led to Zeeshan Siddique being booked

. An official, Rajan Bhargav Yevle, the complainant in the case, was appointed by the SRA to survey Sant Dnyaneshwar Nagar for the project as the SRA had decided to redevelop it. Gitanjali Shirke was the head of the project. The process was carried out from July 22 to 30 and residents were also cooperating, Yevle stated in the FIR.

. On July 30, Siddique arrived at Sant Dnyaneshwar Nagar with seven to eight party members and he instructed survey officer Chandrashekhar Ramakant Thakur and 10 other officials to stop the survey.

. According to the FIR, Zeeshan told to officer not to force residents to take part in the process. Zeeshan also allegedly threatened them to stop the survey, claiming it was being carried out against the wishes of the people.

. On August 1, surveying resumed at 10.30 am and the MLA arrived at the spot with a few party members again and stopped the work. Shirke and Yevle met Zeeshan and requested him to co-operate with them. At 3.30 pm surveying resumed but Zeeshan stopped it and his workers removed the markers from the doors of homes that had been visited by officials.

‘Accused wanted R1cr to kill Baba'

During interrogation, Ram Kanoujiya, an accused, disclosed that, initially, Shubham Lonkar had contracted him and Nitin Sapre to kill Baba Siddique. An officer stated, "Kanoujiya did not want to take on the contract, which is why he demanded R1 crore for the job. After hearing the amount, Lonkar backed out, ." Lonkar assumed that people from UP unaware of Siddique's stature and influence, would agree to the murder for a lower amount. Shubham assigned the task to the UP module of Dharmaraj Kashyap, Gurnail Singh and Shivkumar Gautam," the officer said.