Siddique murder: Killers practiced shooting in Karjat | Mumbai News

MUMBAI: The hitmen in the high-profile murder of former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique had been conducting target practice in Karjat, not far from Mumbai, in August. They completed at least ten training sessions before carrying out the attack on Siddique.

The Mumbai Crime Branch made this statement in the Esplanade Metropolitan Magistrate Court on Monday and sought extension of custody of four accused who were produced before the court today. They were suspected shooters Gurmail Baljitsingh (23) and Dharmaraj Kashyap (19), both of whom were arrested soon after their accomplice, a fugitive accused, fired the bullets that killed Siddique in Mumbai on October 12. Police told the court that the gunmen were staying in Karjat during shooting training, after which they traveled to Mumbai where they shot Siddique.

The crime branch also presented the court with Pune resident Pravin Lonkar (30), who ran a dairy in Pune and is accused of providing logistical and financial support to the shooters. The fourth accused produced before the court was Harishkumar Balakram Nisad, 26, from whose bank account money was transferred to the shooters. Nisad ran a scrap metal business in Pune.

After hearing arguments from both sides, Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Vinod Patil extended the police custody of the four accused till October 25.

While asking the court to extend the detention, prosecutor VN Vaidya said that the accused were not cooperating with investigators and gave only vague answers. This made it difficult to find the main suspect, according to the police.

Regarding the status of the investigation, Vaidya told the court that there have been ten arrests so far. Police seized the motorcycle and helmet of the accused while they were conducting inspection of Siddique’s house in Bandra (West) and his son Zeeshan Siddique’s office in Bandra (East).

“We need to confront all the accused together to clear all our doubts and for this reason, the four accused should be remanded in police custody until October 25. They showed us the place where they practiced shooting,” the prosecutor added.

Lawyer Siddharth Agarwal, who represented the accused, opposed the extension of detention and claimed, “There is no progress in the investigation. The prosecution has been given adequate time but has not come up with anything concrete yet.”

Agarwal further argued, “Pravin Lonkar was implicated only because he is the brother of Shubham (one of the main accused).” He played no role in the crime. They (police) recovered the weapons and even the person who supplied them.”

Meanwhile, interrogation of two other arrested accused, Ram Kanaujia and Bhagwat Singh Omsingh, revealed that they had traveled to Udaipur in Rajasthan to collect the weapons allegedly used in the murder. They were given the weapons by a man they didn’t know. These included two sophisticated pistols and one country-made weapon, a police officer said.

The official added that the two accused had provided a description of the arms supplier and on the basis of this, the Mumbai Crime Branch was tracking him down with the help of the Rajasthan Police.