MUMBAI: Four of the 18 accused arrested for the Oct 12 murder of former minister and NCP neta Baba Siddique were promised Rs 25 lakh, a car, a flat, and a trip to Dubai. This came to light during their interrogation.
Meanwhile, the city crime branch on Wednesday arrested two Pune residents for their alleged role in the murder conspiracy.
"Ramphoolchand Kanojia (43), who was arrested in October, promised each of the four arrested accused—Rupesh Mohol (22), Shivam Kohad (20), Karan Salve (19), and Gaurav Apune (23)—a trip to Dubai, Rs 25 lakh in cash, a car, and a flat. The accused told police that Kanojia was to receive money from a wanted accused, Zeeshan Akhtar (23). We are verifying the details," said a senior police officer. Akhtar, who originally belongs to Jalandhar in Punjab, is accused of operating around 10 bank accounts and sending more than Rs four lakh to the arrested accused for executing the killing.
Those arrested on Wednesday, Aditya Gulankar (22) and Rafique Shaikh (22), both residents of Karve Nagar in Pune, were produced before the Esplanade court and sent to police custody till Nov 13. They belong to poor families, said a police source. Their names emerged during the interrogation of Mohol. "Gulankar was trained in handling firearms near Khadakwasla near Pune," said police. Initially, it was decided to hire more shooters, but the mastermind decided to reduce the number to three. This was the reason that more weapons were arranged by the accused persons.
Talking about the role of Gulankar and Shaikh, an officer said, "The investigation showed that both the accused were in contact with previously arrested individuals Pravin Lonkar and Mohol. Lonkar and Mohol handed over a 9mm pistol and rounds to them, intended to be used in the crime. The 9mm pistol has been recovered. Efforts are on to trace and seize the remaining ammunition." The 9mm pistol was sent back Pune from Mumbai and handed over to Lonkar, who gave it to Mohol, and finally delivered it to Gulankar and Shaikh. It was recovered earlier from the residence of Kohad, said police, adding that they seized a country-made pistol from Kanojia's Panvel residence. "The fifth weapon was received by Kanojia, but he returned it before the murder," said police.
Siddique was shot dead by three gunmen outside his MLA son Zeeshan Siddique's office in Bandra East on Oct 12. Soon after the firing, police nabbed two shooters while one of them managed to flee and has not been arrested yet. To date, investigators have seized five weapons, including Turkish and Australian-made pistols, and 64 bullets from the accused. The motive behind the murder is still not known. Of the 18 arrested accused, 14 are in jail while four are in police custody. The alleged conspiracy was hatched by the accused belonging to Punjab, UP, and Pune.
Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India. Don't miss daily games like Crossword, Sudoku, and Mini Crossword.Mateen Hafeez, special correspondent at The Times of India in Mum...
Read MoreMateen Hafeez, special correspondent at The Times of India in Mumbai, reports on terrorism, underworld, cybercrime and organized crime syndicates. He also writes about the jails in Maharashtra and focuses on human interest stories. He has covered the Ghatkopar bomb blast, Vile Parle bomb blast, Mulund train blast, train serial blasts in 2006, 26/11 terror attacks and Pune's German Bakery bomb blast. He has a special interest in Urdu fiction written by Ibn-e-Safi.
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