Man held for trying to take control of Baba Siddique’s mobile number gets bail

Vivek alias Amit Sabharwal, a 48-year-old man, was arrested on July 14 by Bandra police on a complaint by Siddique’s daughter, Arshia.

The court said that the investigating officer had gathered evidence, including documents from the telecom service provider company as well as witnesses’ statements. “The applicant is ready to cooperate with the investigating agency. No ground is made out for further detention of the applicant/accused,” the court said, granting bail to Sabharwal, with conditions including that he will not induce any person acquainted with the facts of the case nor threaten them.

The FIR had claimed that on June 25, Siddique’s wife received an email from the telecom company regarding the cell number, which was used by the leader before his death. The number was kept active by his family as it was linked to his business. The service provider’s email revealed an attempt was made by an individual to take over Baba Siddique’s mobile number by submitting fake documents, which included a forged letterhead of the company and a GST certificate that belonged to the late NCP leader’s wife.

The investigating officer told the court that the police had seized six cell phones and five SIM cards from the accused.

The accused had sought bail, claiming he was falsely implicated.