Shubham Lonkar and his brother Pravin are thought to be key conspirators in Siddique’s murder.One of the suspects sought by the Mumbai Police in the horrific murder of former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique in Mumbai’s Bandra last week had previously been questioned following the shooting outside superstar Salman Khan’s home in April, but was released due to a lack of proof.
According to police, Shubham Lonkar is emerging as a key conspirator in the murder of Siddique, a three-time MLA and member of the NCP’s Ajit Pawar group.
According to sources, following the shooting outside Salman Khan’s apartment, Galaxy Apartments, in Bandra, Lonkar, who is thought to be a prominent member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, was one of those detained for interrogation. Several others who were interviewed in connection with the crime reportedly took his name. According to reports, Lonkar was suspected of providing sanctuary to the suspects in the firing case but was released due to a lack of compelling evidence.
Police had previously informed NDTV that Lonkar and his brother, Pravin, were key conspirators in the Siddique murder and had enrolled two of the shooters, Dharamraj Kashyap and Shiv Kumar Gautam, in the scheme.A message uploaded on Facebook on Sunday, in which the Lawrence Bishnoi gang claimed responsibility for Siddique’s death, was also purportedly from Shubham Lonkar’s account.
While Pravin was apprehended in Pune on Sunday evening, Shubham is still on the run.
The police used the Lonkar brothers’ names in court on Monday to publicly claim for the first time that the Bishnoi gang may have been responsible for Siddique’s death.Warning Post
In the Facebook post, Lonkar stated that Siddique was slain because he was tied to India’s most wanted terrorist Dawood Ibrahim, was close to Salman Khan, and died in police custody with Anuj Thapan, one of the apprehended suspects in the shooting outside Mr Khan’s residence.
Thapan was discovered dead on May 1 at the Mumbai Crime Branch lockup. The authorities reported he died by suicide, but his relatives claimed he was abused in detention.”We have no ill will towards anyone, but whoever helps Salman Khan and the Dawood gang, keep your accounts in order (‘hisab-kitaab kar lena’),” Lonkar stated in Hindi in the Facebook post, whose authenticity is being confirmed.