Baba Siddique murder: Third accused remanded in custody till October 21

Pravin Lonkar, brother of Shubbu Lonkar, taken away from court on Monday. Pic/Shadab Khan

Esplanade court on Monday remanded the third person arrested for the killing of NCP leader and former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique to police custody till October 21. Pravin Lonkar, brother of Shubbu Lonkar, was arrested in Pune on October 13 in connection with the shooting of Baba Siddique.

Police told the court that Lonkar was a key co-conspirator in the case, which took place on October 12 in Mumbai's Nirmal Nagar area. Pravin's arrest follows claims by Shubbu on Facebook, that the killing was carried out under the direction of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi. The Esplanade Court remanded him to police custody until October 21.

(Left) Pravin Lonkar, arrested by Mumbai police from Pune; Shubham Lonkar, one of the accused still absconding

On October 13, Shubbu Lonkar, believed to be a member of the Bishnoi gang, posted on Facebook, claiming that gangster Lawrence Bishnoi was behind the murder. Police are investigating the claims and suspect that Shubbu Lonkar may actually be Shubham Lonkar, an associate of Bishnoi. A team of Crime Branch officials reached Pune and arrested Pravin. According to the police, he is a member of the gang and was also actively involved in conspiring the murder.

Public prosecutor S N Vaidya told the court that the alleged accused are active members of the Bishnoi Gang. "The police suspect that Pravin provided the arms to the accused, and some of the accused are absconding. Pravin should be granted police custody as the police need to find the whereabouts of Shubham and others. Only Pravin can tell where his brother is," prosecutor said in court.

Refuting the claims, defence lawyer Prajay Kotkar stated that Pravin had nothing to do with the crime. "Pravin works in a dairy and was arrested from his residence. He did not take any active part in the crime. His brother is involved in the crime. Every time Shubham gets involved in a crime, Pravin is questioned. We request minimal custody," he said in court.

According to the police, the custody of the accused was needed as they planned to take the three nabbed suspects to Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Bihar for further investigation. They also mentioned that Shubham is an active member of the Bishnoi gang and a firearms case has been registered against him. Shubham Lonkar, Mohammad Zeeshan Akhtar, and Shivkumar Gautam remain absconding after the alleged crime. Gurmail Singh, Dharmaraj Kashyap, and Pravin Lonkar have been arrested in this matter.