Baba Siddique murder: Key conspirator who claimed Lawrence Bishnoi link, on the run, his brother held in Pune
Police said Lonkar, who was arrested earlier this year for supplying weapons, was in direct contact with Bishnoi, who is currently lodged in Ahmedabad’s Sabarmati Central Jail.
2 min read
Baba Siddique's final rites are being conducted with full state honors at Bada Qabrastan in Mumbai. Ajit Pawar was present during the funeral.
(Express Photo by Ganesh Shirshekar)The man who put up the social media post claiming jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi was behind the murder of former Maharashtra minister and Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar faction) leader Baba Siddique is a key conspirator in the case and is on the run, the Mumbai Police have established.
Shubham Lonkar, who had put the post through his account ‘shubuu lonkar’, is a resident of Akola and is currently absconding, a police officer said, while adding that his brother Pravin, who is also allegedly part of the conspiracy, has been arrested from Pune.
“Shubham Lonkar had put up the social media post claiming that Siddique was gunned down due to his earlier links to Dawood Ibrahim and the death of Anuj Thappan (one of the accused arrested in the firing outside actor Salman Khan’s residence, who allegedly died by suicide in the lock-up). He deleted the post within a few minutes. The police probe found that he was involved in hatching the conspiracy. He fled by the time we reached his Akola residence. We have, however, arrested his brother Pravin from Pune,” a police officer said.
Lonkar, a mid-level operative in the Bishnoi gang, is suspected to have hired two of the three suspected shooters who were working in a scrapyard in Pune, police said. According to police, Lonkar got to know the suspects as they were working next to a shop owned by him.
Police said Lonkar, who was arrested earlier this year for supplying weapons, was in direct contact with Bishnoi, who is currently lodged in Ahmedabad’s Sabarmati Central Jail. According to police investigations, he had made WhatsApp video calls to Bishnoi twice in 2022 and 2023, and had also received WhatsApp audio calls from three international numbers, including from the gangster’s brother, Anmol Bishnoi.
You May Like
Photos
