Baba Siddique murder case: Main shooter Shivkumar, four others sent to police custody till Nov 19
Mumbai, Nov 11: A court here on Monday remanded in police custody till November 19 alleged main shooter Shivkumar Gautam and four others arrested in NCP politician Baba Siddique's murder case.
The UP special task force and the Mumbai Crime Branch on Sunday arrested alleged shooter Shivkumar (20) and four others from Nanpara in Uttar Pradesh's Bahraich district.
The four other accused, Anurag Kashyap, Gyan Prakash Tripathi, Akash Srivastava and Akhilendra Pratap Singh, were arrested for sheltering Shivkumar and helping him flee to Nepal.
The crime branch produced the accused before additional chief judicial magistrate Vinod Patil.
Seeking their remand, police told court it wanted to probe the financial aspects of the case as well as how the shooter procured arms used in the crime.
Accused Anurag Kashyap provided Shivkumar Rs 2 lakh and there was need to probe the source of this money, police told court.
Shivkumar was in touch with wanted accused Shubham Lonkar and, therefore, his custody was needed to know where the latter was, police said.
Advocate Amit Mishra, appearing for the accused, said Shivkumar was ready to cooperate in the investigation and he could be remanded in police custody.
However, Mishra said, the other four should be remanded for a minimum period as no specific role has been assigned to them in the crime.
They are just accused of providing Shivkumar shelter and helping in his attempt to flee, Mishra argued in court.
After hearing both sides, the court remanded five accused in police custody till November 19.
Former Maharashtra minister Siddique, 66, was shot dead on October 12 by three assailants outside his son MLA Zeeshan Siddique's office building in Bandra East, Mumbai. He sustained two bullet injuries on his chest and was rushed to the Lilavati hospital in Mumbai, where he passed away.
Police on Sunday said Shivkumar Gautam was a resident of Gandara village in Kaiserganj police station area of Bahraich district.
He had gone to Maharashtra to work as a labourer a few years ago, and in April this year, he had called his neighbour accused Dharmaraj Kashyap to work with him.
Shivkumar's father, Balkrishna, is a mason and works as a daily wager.
According to UP STF, arrested accused Shiv Kumar during his interrogation told them he and Dharamraj Kashyap are from the same village.
"I used to work in a scrap (shop) in Pune. My scrap shop and Shubham Lonkar's (shop) were next to each other," Shiv Kumar had told the police, the UP STF had said in a statement on Sunday.
According to STF, Shivkumar told them Shubham Lonkar works for Lawrence Bishnoi and that he (Lonkar) had made him (Shivkumar) talk to Lawrence Bishnoi's brother Anmol Bishnoi several times through Snap Chat.
Shivkumar has said he was to get Rs 10 lakh after the murder of Siddique as well as "something or the other" every month, the STF informed.
Police have so far arrested 23 accused in connection with the murder.
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Vijay secures majority support, set to stake claim to form Tamil Nadu govt
Chennai: After four days of political uncertainty and intense negotiations in Tamil Nadu, actor-politician Vijay is learnt to have secured the numbers required to form the government, sources said.
Supporters gathered outside Vijay’s residence in Chennai on Friday evening, raising slogans in support of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam soon after reports emerged that the party had managed to secure majority support.
Sources said Vijay is expected to meet Tamil Nadu Governor R. V. Arlekar on Friday evening to stake claim to form the government. The meeting is likely to take place around 6 pm.
In its electoral debut in the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, TVK won 108 out of the 234 seats, dealing a major blow to the 62-year political dominance of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.
However, Governor Arlekar had reportedly made it clear that the party would not be invited to form the government without proving a clear majority. Even after two rounds of discussions on Wednesday and Thursday, the Governor is learnt to have maintained his stand that letters of support from at least 118 MLAs must be submitted in the 234-member Assembly.
Apart from Vijay, TVK had the backing of 107 MLAs. Vijay had contested from Tiruchy (East) and Perambur constituencies and won both seats, meaning he would have to resign from one seat before taking oath. This increased the need for additional support.
Amid the political developments, five MLAs from the Congress party, which reportedly moved away from the DMK-led alliance, extended support to Vijay. Vijay also held discussions with leaders of Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Communist Party of India.
The VCK, CPI(M) and CPI had so far been allies of the DMK. At the same time, political discussions intensified in the state over speculation that the DMK could even explore a post-poll understanding with its long-time rival AIADMK to prevent an alternative government from taking shape.
Reports had been circulating since Friday afternoon that the VCK and Left parties were likely to support Vijay. Sources later said that the VCK, CPI(M) and CPI agreed to extend the support of two MLAs each, helping TVK cross the required majority mark.
All eyes are now on the Governor’s next move and the official announcement regarding the formation of the new government in Tamil Nadu.
