Mathura (UP), Oct 19: Three policemen have been suspended for alleged negligence in duty, taking cognisance of videos in which a sharpshooter of Lawrence Bishnoi gang interacts with reporters while in police custody and comments on NCP leader Baba Siddique's killing, officials said on Saturday.

In the purported videos that went viral on social media, Yogesh (26) alias Raju said Siddique, who was killed in Mumbai recently, was not a good man and had connections with India's most-wanted criminal Dawood Ibrahim.

Taking action in the matter, Mathura Senior Superintendent of Police Shailesh Kumar Pandey on Friday night ordered the suspension of three policemen, including a sub-inspector, the officials said.

According to the officials, Yogesh is associated with the Lawrence Bishnoi-Hashim Baba gangs. He has been arrested in connection with last month's killing of gym owner Nadir Shah in Delhi's Greater Kailash area.

They, however, said Yogesh is not linked with the killing of Baba Siddique, a former Maharashtra minister, on October 12. Siddique was shot dead outside his MLA son Zeeshan Siddique's office in Mumbai's upscale Bandra area.

Yogesh was arrested on Thursday morning after he suffered injuries in an encounter with a joint team of the Delhi Police's Special Cell and the Mathura Police. The police seized a .32-bore pistol, ammunition and a motorcycle from his possession.

After being shot in the leg, Raju was taken to the district hospital, where he made statements about Siddique while speaking to reporters on Thursday.

While being transferred from the district hospital to the district jail, Raju made additional statements on camera to some mediapersons. Several videos of his comments went viral on social media, and the incident was also covered by news channels and newspapers.

SP (City) Arvind Kumar said the police took action following Yogesh's media statements. SSP Shailesh Kumar Pandey suspended Sub-Inspector Ramsanehi, Head Constable Vipin Kumar, and Constable Sanjay Kumar for negligence in security of the accused, he said.

An inquiry has been initiated, and a deputy superintendent of police has been directed to investigate and submit a report, Kumar added.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Yogesh had said, "Baba Siddique was killed because he was not a good man. There were charges against him under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). It is said that he was associated with Dawood, the man behind the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts. When people get involved with such individuals, something is bound to happen. This is exactly what happened to Siddique."

Talking about criminals gathering information before committing a crime, he said, "These days we have mobile phones, the internet, Google and so on. We can find out a lot about a person through these means."

Regarding the murder case in Delhi, Yogesh claimed that he had no direct contact with anyone. "It was only through my friends from Delhi that we communicated," he said.

"We are given direct targets. Anyone who gets in the way and does something wrong will face consequences," he added.

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Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).

Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.

The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.

"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.

Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.

The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."

Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.

"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.

Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.

He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.

"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.