Disowned him 11 years ago: Family of Baba Siddique murder accused

Kaithal: Family of one of the accused, arrested in connection with the murder of NCP leader and former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique, has said that "we disowned him 11 years ago".

The accused were arrested on Saturday night on the charges of murdering Baba Siddique outside his son Zeeshan Siddique's office in Bandra East.

The 66-year-old leader was shot dead by three assailants.

While two of the accused, Gurmail Baljit Singh (23) from Haryana and Dharamraj Kashyap (19) from Uttar Pradesh, were arrested, the third identified as Shiv Kumar was on the run.

According to the police, the assailants reportedly arrived at the crime scene in an auto-rickshaw and then opened fire on the NCP leader.

Singh, one of the arrested individuals, hails from Narar village in Kaithal, Haryana.

Singh's 60-year-old grandmother, Phuli Devi, told IANS that the family disowned him 11 years ago due to his behaviour, and they have had no contact with him since.

"We disowned him 11 years ago and have no relation with him. The last time we saw him was four months ago," Phuli Devi said.

The notorious Lawrence Bishnoi gang has claimed responsibility for the crime on social media. However, the post's authenticity was yet to be confirmed by the police.

According to the sources, Singh was previously lodged in Kaithal jail for a 2022 murder case, and after being released on bail, he moved to Mumbai, where he reportedly came in contact with the members of the Bishnoi gang.

It is believed that Gurmail met Lawrence Bishnoi's henchmen while serving a sentence in Kaithal jail, which ultimately led to his involvement in the plot to kill Baba Siddique.

Siddique shared a close association with Bollywood actor Salman Khan, who has repeatedly faced threats from the Lawrence Bishnoi gang and associates.