'Reason for his death…': Lawrence Bishnoi-Bande claims responsibility for Baba Siddique's death

The Lawrence Bishnoi gang on Saturday claimed responsibility for the murder of NCP leader and former minister Baba Siddique. A gang member's Facebook post, which has since gone viral, said the murder was due to Siddique's links 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 body as dust. I was just doing the right thing and honoring the duty of friendship,” the gang member wrote in the post.

“Salman Khan, we did not want this war, but you ensured that our brother lost his life. Today Baba Siddique's decency pool is closed or he was once under the MCOCA (Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act) along with Dawood. The reason” because his death was his association with Dawood and Anuj Thapan in Bollywood, politics and real estate deals.

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

The rivalry between Bollywood star Salman Khan and the Bishnoi gang has its roots in the 1998 blackbuck poaching case, in which Khan was accused of killing two blackbucks, animals sacred to the Bishnoi community. Outraged by the incident, the community took legal action, which led to Khan's conviction in 2018, but he was granted bail.

Notorious gangster Lawrence Bishnoi later made threats and called it an honor to kill Khan. In 2022, the Bishnoi gang allegedly sent a death threat letter to Khan and his father, referring to the murder of singer Sidhu Moosewala. As a result, Khan increased his security, obtained Category Y+ protection and applied for a firearms license.

Siddique was shot near Nirmal Nagar in Bandra. He later died from his gunshot wounds. Mumbai Police have launched an investigation into the murder from various angles, including a possible contract killing, a business rivalry or a threat over a slum redevelopment 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, which is scheduled to hold assembly elections next month. He was ambushed and shot at by three men in Kher Nagar in Mumbai's Bandra district, right in front of the office of his MLA son Zeeshan Siddique.

Two of the attackers, hailing from Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, have been taken into custody while another suspect is on the run, police told news agency PTI. Siddique had represented the Bandra (West) seat thrice in the Assembly. Siddique, a prominent Muslim leader from Mumbai, was also known for his closeness to several Bollywood stars.

Siddique's killing marks the first high-profile political killing in Mumbai in nearly three decades and sent shockwaves across poll-bound Maharashtra. Siddique, a veteran Congressman who joined Ajit Pawar's faction of the NCP in February this year, held the post of a former minister and was under Y security level.

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