Murdered NCP leader Baba Siddique’s son, Zeeshan Siddique, took to social media on Sunday to send a strong message to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang and express his determination to continue the fight for justice.
In a powerful post on X (formerly Twitter), Zeeshan, a sitting MLA, declared that those who took his father’s life might have silenced him, but they have not broken his spirit.
"They silenced my father. But they forget - he was a lion—and I carry his roar within me, his fight in my veins," Zeeshan wrote, pledging to uphold his father’s legacy of standing for justice and fighting for change. He continued, "They took one, but I rise in his place. This fight is far from over. Today, I stand where he stood: ALIVE, RELENTLESS, and READY. To my people of Vandre East, I am always with you."
The emotional post came days after Zeeshan tweeted in Hindi, calling out the cowardice of his father’s killers. "Cowards often frighten the brave, even jackals kill lions by deceit," he wrote on October 19.
His other post stated "Not all that is hidden sleeps, nor all that is visible speaks."
On Friday, Zeeshan met Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who briefed him on the progress of the police probe. So far, nine individuals have been arrested in connection with Baba Siddique’s murder.
Earlier, on Thursday, Zeeshan made an impassioned appeal for justice, urging that his father’s death should not be politicised. "My father lost his life protecting and saving the lives and homes of poor innocent people. Today, my family is broken but his death must not be politicised and definitely not go in vain. I NEED JUSTICE, MY FAMILY NEEDS JUSTICE!" he wrote on X.
Another accused arrested in Baba Siddiqui murder case
Meanwhile, on Sunday, Mumbai Crime Branch arrested another person in connection with the NCP leader Baba Siddiqui's murder case.
So far, 10 people have been arrested in the case, Mumbai Police said on Sunday.
The accused has been identified as Bhagwant Singh. He was arrested from Belapur in Navi Mumbai
According to police, Bhagwant is accused of aiding the shooters by providing them shelter and weapons. Bhagwant is also alleged to have transported weapons from Rajasthan to Mumbai.
Baba Siddique was shot outside his office in Nirmal Nagar. He sustained two gunshot wounds to the chest and was taken to Mumbai's Lilavati Hospital for emergency treatment, where he succumbed to his injuries on October 12.
On October 19, Mumbai Police suspended police security guard Shyam Sonawane, who was present with the former Maharashtra minister during the time of the incident.
According to the Mumbai police, constable Shyam Sonawane, deployed for Baba Siddiqui's security, "did not take any action" on his part against the accused who fired at Siddiqui at that time.
In another development, a photograph of NCP leader Baba Siddique's son Zeeshan Siddique was found in the phone of one of the arrested accused, Mumbai Police said.
As per the police, this picture was shared with the accused by their handler through Snapchat.
"Investigation revealed that the shooters and conspirators used Snapchat to share information with messages being deleted after instructions were given," Mumbai police said.
Arrested accused Ram Kanojia revealed during interrogation that he was the first person, who was given the contract to kill the NCP leader and he had initially demanded one crore rupees, the Mumbai Crime Branch stated.
According to his statement, fugitive accused Shubham Lonkar had first given the contract to kill Baba Siddiqui to Ram Kanojia. Kanojia had demanded a fee of one crore rupees for carrying out the murder.
"During interrogation by the Mumbai Crime Branch, Ram Kanojia disclosed that Shubham Lonkar initially offered the contract to him and Nitin Sapre to kill Baba Siddiqui. Kanojia, who hails from Maharashtra, knew the consequences of killing Baba Siddiqui, which is why he was hesitant to take the contract. This led him to demand one crore rupees for the job. Subsequently, Shubham Lonkar chose not to hire Ram Kanojia and instead selected shooters from Uttar Pradesh," the crime branch said.
"Kanojia further revealed that Shubham Lonkar was aware that the people from Uttar Pradesh might not be fully aware of Baba Siddiqui's stature or reputation in Maharashtra. Therefore, they would agree to carry out the murder for a lower price. When Ram Kanojia and Nitin Sapre backed out, Shubham hired Dharma Raj Kashyap, Gurnail Singh, and Shivkumar Gautam from Uttar Pradesh for the task," the statement added.
