The shooters who opened fire on Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddiqui had ordered weapons from Rajasthan and stayed in a room in Patel Chawl in the Kurla area of ​​Mumbai. It was also revealed that the accused had practiced shooting in September. The accused had searched for the room on the internet and finalized the room through a broker, identified as Abbas Shaikh.

During interrogation, it was also revealed that two of the accused - Ram Kanaujia and Bhagwat Singh Om Singh, had gone to Udaipur in July this year and collected two of the three pistols, both foreign-made. The two had taken delivery of the weapons from a man whose clothes matched the description given to them before their meeting. 

The Mumbai police, with the help of their Rajasthan counterparts, are now looking for the person who provided them with the weapons, the official said. He said the Mumbai police are also trying to find out how the weapons reached Rajasthan as they were of foreign origin. 

Siddiqui was shot dead by three gunmen near the office of his MLA son Zeeshan in Mumbai's Bandra area on October 12. The police have so far arrested 10 people, including two alleged shooters Gurmail Singh, a native of Haryana, and Dharamraj Kashyap, a resident of Uttar Pradesh, and recorded statements of 20 people in connection with the case. 

The third shooter, Shivkumar Gautam, is absconding along with some others involved in the murder conspiracy. Shooters practiced firing 30 rounds Shooters Shivkumar Gautam, Dharmaraj and Gurmel had collectively practised firing 30 rounds at Maharashtra's Palasdari village near Karjat in September, a month before the murder of Baba Siddiqui. 

After the arrest, Dharamraj and Gurmel were taken to the spot for investigation, where the officers found several crucial evidence. Investigation revealed that the three accused had boarded a train from Kural to reach Karjat. On reaching there, they boarded an auto and reached the waterfall area, which they found deserted.

Here the shooters practised firing and returned to their rented apartment in Kurla. Earlier, in August, the shooters stayed for a night in Karjat, where they practiced firing in a different village.

The accused had collected photos of Baba Siddiqui from social media

During the investigation, it was also revealed that the accused had collected photos of Baba Siddiqui from social media platforms including Instagram. He said the investigation team is proceeding cautiously as the arrested accused are giving misleading information during interrogation.

Meanwhile, according to the officer, crime branch teams have intensified the search for the absconding accused, who was the main shooter.

pc: news18