5 arrested had sought Rs 50 lakh for Baba Siddique’s killing: Police

The five accused who were arrested in connection with the Baba Siddique murder case the day before (17 October) had demanded Rs 50 lakh for the job, but backed out later due to disagreement over payment and also considering the slain politician's clout, officials said.

The five accused, residents of various areas of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, had prima facie provided logistical support to the shooters and were paid Rs 5 lakh, a crime branch official said on Saturday, 19 October.

They were identified as Nitin Gautam Sapre (32), Sambhaji Kisan Pardhi (44), Pradeep Dattu Thombre (37), Chetan Dilip Pardhi and Ram Fulchand Kanoujia (43). Sapre is from Dombivali, while Pardhi, Thombre and Pardhi (27) are from Ambernath in Thane district. Kanoujia is a resident of Panvel in Raigad, police said.

According to crime branch officials, except Thombre, four others have criminal backgrounds.

"The interrogation by police revealed that the Sapre-led module had demanded Rs 50 lakh from the mediator to kill Baba Siddique. But that did not work out. So, due to the disagreement over the contract, they decided to back out," an official said on Saturday.

Additionally, Sapre was aware that since Siddique was a high-profile politician and well-connected, killing him would create a huge problem for his module. Hence, they decided not to go ahead, he said.

"But the accused persons decided to give logistical support to the new shooters and provide other help," he added.

Siddique (66), a former Maharashtra minister, was shot dead on the night of 12 October outside his MLA son Zeeshan Siddique's office in Mumbai’s upscale Bandra.

Investigators have found that the module led by Sapre was in contact with conspirator Shubham Lonkar and mastermind Mohammed Zeeshan Akhtar till the firing, the official said.

Police are investigating whether Shubham and Akhtar had acted as intermediaries for the Lawrence Bishnoi gang in the contract killing, he said.

The money was reportedly provided by Shubham Lonkar and transferred to the bank accounts of the five accused by a gang member, another crime branch official said.

"The receipt of Rs 5 lakh into bank accounts of the accused was confirmed through bank statements," the official said.

According to crime branch sources, the three shooters and the five accused were previously unknown to each other. They were introduced to each other by key conspirators Shubham Lonkar and Akhtar.

The shooters and the accused who supplied them weapons remained in constant contact and even practised shooting together.

"Sapre and Kanoujia had been continuously in contact with Shubham Lonkar. When the conspiracy to kill Siddique was being planned, Shubham asked them to arrange weapons," crime branch sources said.

Subsequently, Shubham hired Shivkumar Gautam, the main shooter, and Dharmaraj Kashyap while the third shooter, Gurmail Baljit Singh, was sent to Pune by Akhtar.

Two of the five accused had conducted a recce of Siddique's office before the murder, apart from the three shooters. Sapre and Kanoujia had also kept watch on Siddique's house and office twice, clicking pictures and making videos. These recordings were forwarded to Shubham Lonkar, the official added.

Sapre, Sambhaji Pardhi, and Chetan Pardhi are accused of murdering a man, identified as Somnath Pardhi, in 2015.

They became acquainted with Kanoujia in jail and subsequently started working together after being released on bail in 2017, the official said.

The main shooter in the case, Shivkumar Gautam, along with Shubham Lonkar and Mohammed Zeeshan Akhtar, is currently on the run. The police have issued a look-out circular (LOC) against the three accused.