Haryana-resident arrested for Baba Siddique's murder has criminal background: Police
Chandigarh (PTI): Haryana-resident Gurmail Baljit Singh, accused of being one of the shooters who killed NCP leader Baba Siddique, has a prior criminal history, including a murder case against him, police said on Sunday.
Twenty-three-year-old Singh's family said they disowned him 11 years ago and have called for exemplary punishment for his actions.
Mumbai Police has arrested two of the alleged assailants -- Singh from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh-native Dharmaraj Rajesh Kashyap. The third accused, Shiv Kumar, is on the run and efforts are on to trace him, police said.
The trio have been booked under relevant Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections, including for murder and under provisions of the Arms Act and the Maharashtra Police Act, they said.
Giving details of Singh's criminal record, Kaithal Superintendent of Police Rajesh Kalia told PTI that the accused was arrested in a murder case in 2019, in which he got bail later.
Another case was registered against him after a mobile phone was recovered from him in jail in 2022, the Haryana Police officer said. He had been booked in another case of beating a youth, he said.
Singh's grandmother Phuli Devi told reporters in Kaithal that the family disowned him 11 years ago. "His parents have passed away. The family has disowned him since past eleven years. He is nothing to us now," she told reporters at her residence in her Narar village.
Asked about what work Singh did, his grandmother said, "He did nothing. He came out of jail on bail. He was in jail for four years."
She said he should be given exemplary punishment as per law for his deeds.
Mumbai Police has launched a probe into the killing of the former Maharashtra minister from different angles, including a possible contract killing, business rivalry or threat over a slum rehabilitation project, officials said on Sunday.
They were also verifying a social media post in which an alleged member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang has taken responsibility for the murder, police said.
Baba Siddique (66) was waylaid by three men at Kher Nagar in Mumbai's Bandra area just outside his MLA son Zeeshan Siddique's office and shot at on Saturday night. He was taken to the Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai where he was declared dead.
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Sujit Nair raises concerns over speculation of DMK-AIADMK understanding to block TVK
Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.
In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.
Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.
Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.
According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.
He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.
He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.
Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.
He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.
Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.
He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.
