Baba Siddique murder: Zeeshan Siddique meets Crime Branch officers

Zeeshan Siddique at the police commissioner’s office on Wednesday. Pic/PTI

Zeeshan Siddique met with senior officers of the Mumbai Crime Branch on Wednesday to discuss the progress of the investigation. Sources indicate that during the meeting, Zeeshan shared certain details and requested that the Crime Branch incorporate them into their inquiry. "We cannot disclose the specifics, as they are confidential between us and the victim's family, but we will investigate all the aspects raised by him," an officer said.

Zeeshan spent nearly three hours at the commissioner's office in Crawford Market, meeting with Crime Branch officers in pursuit of justice for his father. When journalists asked him if his father had ever received threats, he remained silent, folding his hands as he left the office. He appeared deeply shaken by the murder of his father, a prominent political figure in Mumbai who was on the verge of becoming an MLC.

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Meanwhile, the third pistol recovered by the Crime Branch 48 hours after the assassination of Baba Siddique has been identified as Turkish-made. Officers stated that the 7.62 mm bore pistol was used to fire six rounds at Siddique, three of which struck him. Previously recovered bullets were found to be made in Austria and from a locally-made desi katta.

In addition to the pistol, officers also recovered 30 live rounds. Earlier, during the arrest of accused Dharmaraj Kashyap and Gurmail Singh, live bullets were seized, and six rounds had been fired. Authorities believe the suspects had between 60 to 70 bullets in total and had dry practiced shooting in their rented premises in Kurla, reportedly learning techniques from YouTube videos.

Officials revealed that a sack found near the crime scene 48 hours after the incident contained two Aadhaar cards. One was in the name of shooter Shiv Kumar Gautam, while the other had the name Sumit Kumar but featured a picture of Shiv Kumar Gautam. Police believe this fake identity was created to stay in Mumbai and escape after carrying out the assassination, with Kashyap.

Crime Branch found two Aadhaar cards with different identities. It is also suspected that the accused changed his shirt after shooting Siddique, as a shirt was found inside the sack. Investigators have also learnt that the accused purchased a bike in Pune for Rs 43,000, which was used for a recce at multiple locations frequented by Baba Siddique and his son, Zeeshan. "During one of the recces, they were involved in an accident, after which they stopped using the bike and switched to autos and taxis for their surveillance," an officer said.