Baba Siddique murder: Key conspirator Zeeshan Akhtar held in Canada, funded attack via 10 bank accounts

MUMBAI: Zeeshan Akhtar (22), a Punjab resident and wanted key conspirator in the murder of NCP politician Baba Siddique, has reportedly been detained in Canada, it was learnt on Tuesday.While police here are yet to receive a confirmation, sources said Akhtar had been detained on Interpol's notice and had been in Canadian police custody for over a week.Linked to the Lawrence and Anmol Bishnoi gang. Akhtar is the second accused to be detained in Canada after Anmol.Akhtar is accused of planning the killing and funding it through over 10 bank accounts.Investigators say Akhtar coordinated with jailed shooter Gurmel Singh and other accused, and arranged weapons and shelter for the assailants. He left Mumbai a month before the murder in Oct to avoid suspicion.So far, 26 accused have been arrested, including Shivkumar Gautam alias Shiva, who is accused of firing the shots at Siddique,from various places, including Pune, Bahraich (Uttar Pradesh), Haryana, Dombivli and Karjat.A chargesheet is set to be filed against all 26 under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). The 66-year-old Siddique was shot dead by three assailants outside his son Zeeshan's office in Bandra (East) on the night of Oct 12.While Zeeshan alleged that a builder lobby carrying out an SRA project was behind his father's murder, police ruled out this angle. The police chargesheet claimed that Lawrence's Canada-based brother Anmol was behind the murder. It stated that the murder was a fallout of Siddiqui's alleged links with Dawood Ibrahim and Salman Khan.