Mumbai, Police scoured places of worship in Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain and Khandwa districts in search of the third shooter wanted for the murder of NCP leader Baba Siddique, while different teams searched for the conspirators of the murder that shook Maharashtra ahead of elections.

Mumbai Police’s search for the suspected shooter, Shivkumar Gautam, continued for the second day in Madhya Pradesh on Monday, with joint teams focusing on places of worship in Ujjain and Khandwa districts, officials said.

A team from Mumbai Police reached MP on Sunday, a day after Siddique was shot dead by three gunmen in the financial capital, to trace Gautam.

Police have so far arrested three people – Gurmail Baljit Singh, a resident of Haryana, Dharmaraj Rajesh Kashyap, a native of Uttar Pradesh, both suspected shooters – and “co-conspirator Pravin Lonkar from Pune”.

The alleged “manager” Mohammad Yasin Akhtar is also wanted in this case. Ujjain and Khandwa are famous for the famous Mahakal and Omkareshwar temples which attract thousands of people every day. The Mumbai police are joined by their MP counterparts to trace the third shooter, who hails from Bahraich in Uttar Pradesh. When asked if the fleeing shooter was a “religious” person likely to appear at these famous temples, a police official evaded a direct answer, saying police were also monitoring other places. “A team of Mumbai Police, in collaboration with the Parliamentary Police, is searching for the accused. They suspect that he might be hiding in MP and search him in Ujjain district and Omkareshwar of MP,” a police officer told PTI on Sunday.

NCP leader Siddique, 66, was attacked by three people in Kher Nagar in Mumbai’s Bandra area, just outside the office of his son, MP Zeeshan Siddique, and shot dead on Saturday evening.

Police are checking a social media post, attributed to suspected gang member Lawrence Bishnoi, admitting to Siddique’s murder.

The crime branch is also investigating from different angles, including a possible contract killing, a business or political rivalry or a threat over a slum rehabilitation project, officials said. Mumbai Police set up 15 teams that fanned out across Maharashtra in search of individuals linked to the high-profile murder.

The suspected shooter Gautam had started posting content online in recent months, flaunting his “gangster” status. “Yaar tera gangster hai jaani,” Gautam had captioned his photo on his Instagram account on July 24. The photo showed him riding a motorcycle while a Haryanvi song played in the background.

Gautam hails from Gandara village in Bahraich district, where locals and police said he had no criminal history. They added that he went to work in a scrap metal shop in Pune, Maharashtra. Another of his posts on July 8 was captioned, “Sharif baap hai # hum nahin.” On May 26, he posted a brief video of a cityscape accompanied by background music from “KGF,” a movie about a mercenary, with its dialogue “Powerful people make places powerful.” His mother Suman had expressed shock and disbelief over police claims that Gautam was among those involved in the sensational murder of Siddique, a three-time former MP. The third accused in the case – Pravin Lonkar – was produced before a Mumbai court which remanded him to judicial custody till October 21.

Pravin Lonkar is accused of enlisting two of the three suspected shooters who opened fire on Siddique.

He was produced before the VR Patil magistrate court where the police sought his custody for interrogation to uncover the conspiracy behind the sensational murder.

According to police, Pravin Lonkar’s brother Shubham is believed to be associated with jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi. The prosecution claimed that Shubham Lonkar and other wanted accused plotted the shooting and provided weapons to the gunmen who attacked the 66-year-old politician.

Shubham Lonkar was yet to be apprehended.

They informed the court that Pravin Lonkar was to be taken to Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar for further investigation into the case and hence his custody was required.

Meanwhile, Punjab Police said that Yasin Akhtar, one of the suspects in Siddique’s murder, was facing nine heinous criminal cases, including murder and attempt to murder.

Akhtar is a resident of Shankar village in Jalandhar district, police said.

A Jalandhar police official said nine cases were registered against Akhtar alias Jessi alias Sikandar at different police stations. He is facing serious criminal charges, such as murder, attempt to murder and dacoity, said Nakodar DySP Sukhpal Singh.

Akhtar is also facing two criminal cases in Haryana’s Kaithal. Akhtar was arrested in connection with a criminal case in June 2022. He had not visited his village after his release from prison in June 2024, police said. Akhtar is suspected of having links with gangster Vikram Brar.

Meanwhile, a Mumbai Police official said a single constable was accompanying Siddique when he was shot dead by three men who were hiding from the Dussehra fireworks display to open fire. Six shots were fired at Siddique, two of which hit the former Maharashtra minister in the chest, outside his MLA son Zeeshan Siddique’s office in Nirmal Nagar between 9:15 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.

Uncategorized security, under which Siddique was given three officers, is provided based on the threat perception of the individual, the official added. Two police officers on duty were relieved and only one officer was with Siddique when he was attacked, the official said. PTI LAL SP NSK CHS VSD RC MAN KIS DC BNM RSY

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