In a shocking incident, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Baba Siddiqui was shot near Nirmal Nagar in Bandra late last night. The prominent political figure was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital after sustaining critical bullet injuries. Despite efforts by the medical team, Siddiqui succumbed to his injuries shortly after reaching the hospital. As per latest update, the body of the 66-year old leader has been sent to Cooper Hospital for post-mortem. The tragic event has left his family and supporters devastated, while the police are now probing the motive behind the shooting.
At least six bullets were fired at Mr Siddique near his son's office and four hit him in the chest. Cops, who suspect it to be a contract killing, have formed four special teams to probe the case. The cops are probing the case from two angles - one involving the Bishnoi gang and another related to a slum rehabilitation case. The involvement of the Bishnoi gang is suspected due to Mr Siddique's proximity to Bollywood star Salman Khan, who had received threats from Lawrence Bishnoi. Sources close to the victim claim he had received a death threat 15 days ago and was given the ‘Y' category security cover.
Mr Siddique, however, did not report any threat from the Bishnoi gang, according to the police.Central agencies are in touch with the Mumbai Police while cops in Gujarat and Delhi are also probing the case. Lawrence Bishnoi, who faces dozens of criminal cases, is currently lodged in a jail in Gujarat, but his gang keeps making headlines over ransom calls to businessmen. Salman Khan has been on his “target list” over his infamous 1998 black buck hunting case.Rohit Godara, a close aide of Bishnoi, had earlier claimed that anyone who was a friend of Salman Khan was their enemy.