In the investigation of Baba Siddique’s murder, the police have revealed that the accused conducted over 10 recces of Siddique's office, all while carrying weapons. Despite multiple attempts, they could not find an opportunity to execute their plan. These shooters would wait outside Baba Siddique's office for hours, closely tracking every movement.
According to police sources, the accused used to recce the office either by rickshaw or bike. They were constantly looking for an opportunity to murder Siddique. A police officer mentioned that during these recces, either the opportunity didn't present itself, or Baba Siddique was not present in the office.
On Tuesday, the Crime Branch arrested Harish Kumar Balkaram Nishad (23), who is the cousin of shooter Dharmraj Kashyap. A police official revealed that Harish had recently purchased new mobile phones for Shivprasad and Dharmraj, who are the main suspects in Siddique’s murder. Additionally, Harish was well-informed about the entire plan. He arranged a rental house for the shooters in Kurla and also provided them with a bike.
As per the police, Nishad bought a second-hand bike for ₹60,000 from Pune, rode it to Mumbai himself, and handed it over to the accused in Kurla. This bike was later used by the shooters for recces. The bike was ridden by Shivkumar, the shooter who fired at Baba Siddique.
Mumbai Police sources also revealed that during Baba Mohammad’s murder, Zeeshan Akhtar was not in Mumbai. He coordinated the entire operation from outside the city. The shooters were dropped in Mumbai by Praveen, the brother of Shubham, who also provided them with money. The weapons used to kill Baba Siddique were brought from Punjab, and the police have recovered a 9MM pistol, which is believed to be foreign-made. Authorities suspect that the arms may have come from Pakistan or Nepal and reached Zeeshan.
The police have also recovered three mobile phones from the two shooters arrested at the scene, with several unsaved numbers on the call logs. The investigation into these numbers is ongoing, and the police hope to uncover crucial leads from this.