Shiv Kumar Gautam, the alleged shooter arrested for the murder of NCP leader Baba Siddique last month in Mumbai, had discussed the murder plot with gangster Lawrence Bishnoi’s brother, Anmol Bishnoi, UP Special Task Force (STF) chief Amitabh Yash said on Monday. Gautam, who was arrested last week for killing NCP leader Baba Siddique, told the police during the investigation that he had returned to the crime scene around 20 minutes after shooting Siddique and fleeing from the spot. The shooter fled from the spot after shooting Siddique, changed his clothes, threw his bag, Aadhar car and pistol, following which he returned to the spot, sources said. He also said that after he returned to the site of the incident and was standing there, police officials approached him and enquired if he had seen the shooters, and he denied seeing anything. Gautam also said that he saw his accomplices, Dharmaraj Kashyap and Gurmel Singh, getting arrested by the police, according to sources. After watching the developments at the murder spot for sometime, Gautam went towards Lilavati Hospital at around 10 pm. He then reached Kurla station and took a local train to Thane at around 10.47 pm.
The shooter then took a train to Pune from Thane, and he discarded his mobile phone on his way as per the instructions of the masterminds. He further took a train to Jhansi at around 4 am on October 13.
Along with Gautam, the Mumbai Police also arrested four individuals, including Anurag Kashyap, the brother of shooter Dharmaraj Kashyap, who had provided shelter to Shiv.
The two masterminds, Shubham Lonkar and Zeeshan Akhtar, are still absconding and some of the arrested accused have revealed information about Lonkar.
Lonkar had practised shooting with an AK-47 rifle in the Naxal-affected region of Chattisgarh’s Bilaspur.
The two accused, Gaurav Apune and Rupesh Mohol, have revealed that after their visit to Jharkhand’s Ranchi on July 29, they stayed there for some days and then went to Bilaspur, where Lonkar practised firing an AK-47 rifle for four days.
Apune and Mohol have revealed that a municipal corporator from Pune was on Lonkar’s hitlist, and he planned to eliminate him. The Mumbai Police have alerted the Pune Police about the threat.
