 "Siddique murder: Cops search for 3rd shooter who flaunted 'gangster' status")
Police have scoured places of worship in Madhya Pradesh's Ujjain and Khandwa in their hunt for the third shooter wanted in connection with the killing of NCP leader Baba Siddique.
Six rounds were fired on Baba Siddique, two of which hit the former Maharashtra minister on the chest, outside his MLA son Zeeshan Siddique's office in Mumbai's Nirmal Nagar between 9.15 pm and 9.30 pm on Saturday.
Police have so far arrested three persons - Haryana resident Gurmail Baljit Singh (23), Uttar Pradesh native Dharmaraj Rajesh Kashyap (19), both alleged shooters, and "co-conspirator" Pravin Lonkar from Pune.
Another suspected shooter Shivkumar Gautam, who hails from Bahraich in UP and is on the run, took to posting online content in recent months, flaunting his "gangster" status.
"Yaar tera gangster hai jaani (your friend is a gangster)", Gautam captioned his photo post on his Instagram account on July 24. The photo showed him on a motorcycle as a Haryanvi song played in the background.
Suspected "handler" Mohammad Yasin Akhtar is also wanted in the case.
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The Mumbai police's search for Gautam continued for the second day on Monday in Madhya Pradesh with joint teams focusing on places of worship in Ujjain and Khandwa districts, officials said.
A senior police official in MP's Khandwa district on Monday said the shooters arrested by Mumbai police have told their interrogators that they had visited some places of worship.
There was a possibility that the accused, while on the run, may visit these places again, he said.
Asked about these two districts having 'jyotirlingas' and whether the accused may be a devotee, the official said he would not offer a comment.
Khandwa shares a border with Maharashtra, the official noted, adding that "we have received no inputs about his whereabouts".
Ujjain and Khandwa are famous for the Mahakal and Omkareshwar temples which attract thousands of people every day.
A top Ujjain police official on Monday evening said the team from Mumbai was still in the district. They have not been able to find any leads so far, he added.
A Mumbai police team reached MP on Sunday, a day after Siddique was shot dead.
Police were also verifying a social media post, attributed to a purported member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, owning up to the murder of Siddique.
The crime branch was probing various angles, including a possible contract killing, business or political rivalry or threat over a slum rehabilitation project, officials said.
The Mumbai police have set up 15 teams which fanned out of Maharashtra in search of individuals linked to the high-profile murder.
Suspected shooter Gautam hails from Gandara village in Bahraich district, where locals and police said he had no criminal history. They said he had gone to work at a scrap shop in Maharashtra's Pune.
An Instagram post by him on July 8 was captioned "Sharif baap hai # (expletives) hum nahin".
On May 26, he posted a brief video of a city skyline along with background music from "KGF", a film about a mercenary, with its dialogue "powerful people make places powerful".
The third accused in the case - Pravin Lonkar - was produced in a Mumbai court which remanded him in police custody till October 21. He is accused of "enlisting" two of the three alleged shooters who opened fire at Siddique.
As per the police, Pravin Lonkar's brother Shubham Lonkar, who is yet to be apprehended, is allegedly associated with jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi.
The prosecution claimed Shubham Lonkar and other wanted accused had conspired the shooting and supplied arms to the gunmen who attacked the 66-year-old politician.
Pravin Lonkar has to be taken to Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar for further probe and hence his custody was required, police told court.
Meanwhile, the Punjab police said Yasin Akhtar (21), one of the suspects in the killing of Siddique and a resident of Shankar village in Jalandhar district, was facing nine heinous criminal cases, including for murder and attempt to murder.
Akhtar was arrested in a criminal case in June 2022 and has not visited his village after he was released in June 2024, police said.
Akhtar is suspected to have links with gangster Vikram Brar.