13 October,2024 12:35 PM IST | New Delhi | mid-day online correspondent
Baba Siddique. Pic/Facebook
A day after the tragic shooting of former Maharashtra minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Baba Siddique in Mumbai, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari said on Sunday that no one can evade the law in Maharashtra. He noted that the NDA government has successfully caught two accused within 24 hours of the incident, reported ANI.
Calling the incident "tragic", the Bhandari urged against politicising the situation. The BJP leader stated, "The Maharashtra government of Eknath Shinde, Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar's NDA government have caught two accused within 24 hours. The search for one accused is underway and he will also be caught soon."
Bhandari further urged, "Politics should not be done on this. Baba Siddiqui was a big leader. In Maharashtra, no one can escape the law. Within minutes of the crime, police came into the action. They formed a special team. CM Eknath Shinde is monitoring the entire investigation."
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In response to the murder, according to ANI, the Mumbai Crime Branch has initiated a case at Nirmal Nagar Police Station under various legal provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Arms Act, and Maharashtra Police Act.
The case has been registered under Crime Registration No. 589/2024, Sections 103(1), 109, 125, and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), as well as Sections 3, 25, 5, and 27 of the Arms Act, and Section 37 and Section 137 of the Maharashtra Police Act, reported ANI.
Baba Siddique, who was part of Ajit Pawar's faction of NCP, was shot near Nirmal Nagar in Bandra and later succumbed to his injuries at Lilavati Hospital late Saturday night.
The police have identified the two arrested accused Gurmail Singh from Haryana and Dharamraj Kashyap from Uttar Pradesh.
According to police reports, both the accused had been surveilling Baba Siddique for an extended period prior to the incident. They had done a recce of his residence and office over a span of one and a half to two months while staying in Mumbai.
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"The search for the third accused is on and several teams of the Mumbai Crime Branch are investigating this case," the authorities stated. Both arrested individuals are currently being interrogated by senior officers from the Mumbai Crime Branch.
The police also revealed that the accused had received advance payment for their actions and had acquired firearms shortly before carrying out the shooting.
"They had received arms delivery a few days ago. The accused have been questioned by Mumbai Crime Branch officials for the last eight hours," said Mumbai Police reported ANI.
