Mumbai Crime Branch police have made another arrest in the ongoing investigation into the murder of NCP leader and former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique, officials reported on Wednesday. The suspect, identified as Gaurav Vilas Apune, age 32, was apprehended in Pune, Maharashtra, bringing the total number of arrests in this high-profile case to 16. Following his arrest, a court remanded him to police custody until November 9.
During the investigation, officials uncovered that Apune had met with other suspects to discuss and plan Siddique’s assassination. He was reportedly in contact with the group of shooters initially hired for the killing. Baba Siddique was shot dead by three assailants on October 12 near the office of his son, MLA Zeeshan Siddique, located in Mumbai’s Nirmal Nagar.
The murder has been claimed by a gang led by jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, who allegedly orchestrated the assassination. Earlier, Mumbai Police confirmed that the firearms used in the crime had been sourced from Rajasthan.
The Mumbai Crime Branch has intensified its search for more suspects, deploying five teams outside Maharashtra and actively searching in Haryana. Among those sought is Zeeshan, who has been identified as the alleged mastermind behind the murder.
In addition, Crime Branch officials recovered another weapon used in Baba Siddique’s murder from the Pune residence of suspect Rupesh Mohol, marking the fifth weapon recovered in the case. Authorities believe there were about six weapons brought into Mumbai as part of the assassination plot and are still searching for one more firearm and three live cartridges.
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Earlier, another weapon had been recovered from the Raigad residence of suspect Ram Fulchand Kanoujia, where he had been living on rent. Police also revealed that, upon examining the mobile phones of the shooters, images of pistols were found, further linking them to the crime.
