'Reason for his death...': Lawrence Bishnoi gang claims responsibility for Baba Siddique's death

The Lawrence Bishnoi gang has claimed responsibility for NCP leader and former minister Baba Siddique's murder on Saturday. A Facebook post by a gang member, which has now gone viral, said the murder was due to Siddique's ties with Bollywood actor Salman Khan and underworld figures Dawood Ibrahim and Anuj Thapan.

"Om, Jai Shri Ram, Jai Bharat," followed by, "I understand the essence of life, and consider wealth and the body as dust. I did only what was right, honouring the duty of friendship," the gang member wrote in the post.  

"Salman Khan, we did not want this war but you made our brother lose his life. Today the pool of decency of Baba Siddique is closed or at one time he was under MCOCA (Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act) with Dawood. The reason for his death was his links to Dawood and Anuj Thapan in Bollywood, politics, and property dealings."

"We have no personal enmity with anyone. However, anyone who helps Salman Khan or the Dawood gang should be prepared. If anyone gets any of our brothers killed, we will respond. We never strike first. Jai Shri Ram, Jai Bharat, salute to the martyrs," the post further read.

The rivalry between Bollywood star Salman Khan and the Bishnoi gang stems from the 1998 blackbuck poaching case, where Khan was accused of killing two blackbucks, animals sacred to the Bishnoi community. Outraged by the incident, the community pursued legal action, leading to Khan's 2018 conviction, though he was granted bail. 

Notorious gangster Lawrence Bishnoi later issued threats, calling it an honor to kill Khan. In 2022, the Bishnoi gang allegedly sent a death threat letter to Khan and his father, referencing the murder of singer Sidhu Moosewala. As a result, Khan has heightened his security, receiving Y+ category protection and applying for a firearm license.

Siddique was shot at near Nirmal Nagar in Bandra. He later succumbed to bullet injuries. The Mumbai Police have launched a probe into the killing from different angles, including a possible contract killing, business rivalry or threat over a slum rehabilitation project. 

Siddique was shot dead by three assailants in Mumbai. He was shifted from Lilavati Hospital to Cooper Hospital. The shocking incident prompted the opposition to question the law and order situation in the state where the assembly elections are expected to be held next month. He was waylaid by three men at Kher Nagar in Mumbai's Bandra area just outside his MLA son Zeeshan Siddique's office and shot at. 

Two of the assailants, hailing from Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, have been taken into custody while another suspect is on the run, the police informed as per news agency PTI. Siddique had represented Bandra (West) seat three times in the assembly. A prominent Muslim leader from Mumbai, Siddique was also known be close to several Bollywood stars. 

The assassination of Siddique marks the first high-profile political murder in Mumbai in nearly three decades, sending shockwaves through poll-bound Maharashtra. Siddique, a long-time Congressman who switched to Ajit Pawar’s faction of the NCP in February this year, held the position of a former minister and was under Y-category security. 

The last political killings in Mumbai date back to the early 1990s, when BJP MLAs Ramdas Nayak and Premkumar Sharma, representing Bandra and Khetwadi respectively, were shot dead. Around the same period, Shiv Sena legislators Vitthal Chavan and Ramesh More were also assassinated in the city.