The alleged involvement of two youths from Uttar Pradesh in the murder of Baba Siddique has sent shockwaves through their village

Bahraich: As the murder of former Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Baba Siddique on Saturday evening in Mumbai shocks the city, locals in Gandara village in Uttar Pradesh’s Bahraich are at a loss after the names of two unremarkable youths from the village were found in connection with the incident Murder case has emerged.

Dharmaraj Kashyap from Gandara is among the two assailants arrested by Mumbai Police in connection with Siddique’s murder, while Shiva Gautam alias Bal Kishun, another youth from the village, is absconding in the case.

As a police team raided the houses of the two youths in Gandara on Sunday to question their family members, locals are in disbelief over their involvement in a murder case.

According to villagers, both youths in Pune set up a cart on the route to earn a living. Both of them had traveled to Pune just a month ago to earn some extra money with the family and the locals.

“My son was never involved in any wrongdoing”: Shiva’s mother Suman said that while she was sweeping outside the house in the morning, she heard some people whispering to each other before she came to know about her son’s alleged involvement in the murder case from her husband.

According to Shiva’s father, his son had gone to Pune eight days after Holi to earn some extra money. Shiva has six siblings, three of whom are boys. Shiva’s mother said that her son has never been involved in any wrongdoing till date.

Dharamraj’s mother Kushma said she came to know about Dharamraj’s alleged involvement in the case from the local police in the morning. She said her son had gone to Pune to work as a scrap dealer just two months ago. Dharamraj has five brothers, of which he is the youngest.

No previous convictions pose a mystery to the police: According to sources, Dharamraj and Shiv Kumar neither have any criminal antecedent nor have any case registered against them. Both come from ordinary families and the villagers were even more perplexed when their names appeared in the high-profile murder case.

Multiple shots fired from a 9.9mm pistol: According to police, several shots were fired from a 9.9 mm pistol in Siddique, which was recovered by police. A police official said that the attackers fired at Baba Siddiqui when people started bursting crackers during the Durga idol immersion process, which is why the locals did not hear the shots.

Lawrence Bishnoi-Bande takes responsibility: The Lawrence Bishnoi gang has reportedly claimed responsibility for the murder of NCP leader Baba Siddique. Significantly, Siddique had received death threats 15 days ago. Earlier, Lawrence Bishnoi’s gang had threatened to kill Salman Khan’s father Salim Khan. According to IANS, a day after Baba Siddiqui’s murder, Mumbai Police on Sunday confirmed the involvement of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi in the murder. The fatal attack occurred near the office of Baba Siddiqui’s son Zeeshan Siddiqui in Bandra East. Siddique was admitted to Lilavati Hospital where he died.

Political career: Baba Siddiqui’s political career began in student life. He was a member of the National Student Union of India Mumbai in 1977. In 1980, he was the Bandra Taluka general secretary of the Bandra Youth Congress. He was a councilor of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation from 1993 to 2003 and a member of the Legislative Assembly from 1999 to 2004, 2004 to 2009 and 2009 to 2014. From 2004 to 2008, Siddique was also a minister in the state government, the president and senior vice president of the Mumbai Regional Congress Committee. He joined the NCP after quitting the Congress.

Read more:

1. Salman Khan pays his respects to Baba Siddique at the late NCP leader’s house
2. ‘Situation in Delhi is similar to Mumbai’: AAP chief Saurabh Bhardwaj targets Center over Baba Siddique murder