Fifteenth accused nabbed by Mumbai cops; Crime Branch targets Bishnoi network

The Lawrence Bishnoi gang poses a serious threat to the Mumbai Crime Branch which has a history of dismantling the cityrsquos underworld In the wake of the highprofile murder of politician Baba Siddique the Crime Branch has been ordered to closely monitor anyone associated with the gang Sources suggest that the police may have made a mistake by releasing Shubham Lonkar a key suspect previously questioned in a shooting near Salman Khanrsquos residence With concerns that inaction could embolden the Bishnoi gang to intensify their extortion efforts especially after Siddiquersquos murder the department is reinforcing its commitment to a zerotolerance policy against organised crime The recent arrests of 15 suspects linked to Siddiquersquos assassination reflect this proactive approach aiming to curb the gangrsquos influence and prevent it from becoming a major threat to the cityThe 15 accused in Baba Siddiquersquos assassination case and their alleged rolesDharmaraj Kashyap 21Kashyap a scrap dealer from Bahraich Uttar Pradesh and son of a poor farmer allegedly served as a shooter and helped scout Siddiquersquos locations from September to October Though present during the shooting he did not fire his associate Shivkumar Gautam fired six rounds three of which were fatal Kashyap reportedly part of the conspiracy was found with a countrymade weapon desi kattaGurmail Singh 23Singh a Haryana resident also a son of a poor farmer has a criminal record He was arrested for murder in 2019 and released on bail last year Disowned by his family he allegedly acted as a shooter but did not fire Caught at the scene he was involved in planning and scouting locations with others Singh was found carrying an Austrianmade Glock and live bulletsPravin LonkarLonkar a resident of Akola is the brother of key conspirator Shubham Lonkar who is currently absconding Both brothers have criminal records under the Arms Act having been arrested by the Vakola Police earlier this year and later released on bail Pravin was reportedly aware of the entire conspiracy and instructed the shooters to use Snapchat for sharing information which he later deleted He coowns a dairy shop in Pune with his brother where they became acquainted with Harish Nishad another accused in the case Lonkar is said to have radicalised Nishad and involved other workers including Kashyap Singh and the absconding Gautam in the plot He allegedly provided logistical support and funds amounting to Rs 4ndash5 lakh for lodging in Kurla acquiring a bike and conducting reconnaissance on Siddiquersquos locationsHarishkumar NishadNishad from Bahraich in Uttar Pradesh ran a scrap shop in Pune where the shooters worked He was allegedly radicalised by the Lonkar brothers he encouraged the shooters and provided Rs 2 lakh from Pravin Lonkar Though he initially claimed innocence the Crime Branch arrested him based on the shootersrsquo statements implicating him as a key financial facilitator He is also believed to have scouted Siddiquersquos locations in Mumbai by bikeRupesh Rajendra Mohol Karan Rahul Salve and Shivam Arvind Kohad were produced in the Esplanade court Killa Court in Mumbai on Thursday PICsSHADAB KHAN right Another accused was produced in Esplanade court Killa Court in Mumbai on SundayRupesh Mohol 22 Karan Salve 19 Shivam Kohad 20Mohol Salve and Kohad all residents of Pune were affiliated with Kanaujia and Saprersquos gang The Crime Branch reports that when Kanaujia and Sapre were first approached by Lonkar these three assisted in conducting reconnaissance of Siddiquersquos locations alongside Kanaujia and Sapre Their involvement in these initial activities led to their arrestNitin Sapre 32 Ram Kanaujia 43Sapre from Dombivli and Kanaujia from Panvel were initially recruited by Shubham Lonkar the main absconding conspirator and agreed to the assignment obtaining a weapon from a contact in Udaipur But upon learning that the target was influential politician Baba Siddique they hesitated Instead of outright refusal they demanded Rs 1 crore Rs 50 lakh each to deter Lonkar from involving them Ultimately Lonkar turned to scrap dealers in Pune for the task Kanaujia later handed the weapon to shooter Gautam in Ghatkopar Both Sapre and Kanaujia have criminal recordsSambhaji Parbi 44 Pradeep Tombar 37 Chetan Pardhi 37Parbi Tombar and Pardhi all residents of Ambernath were members of Sapre and Kanaujiarsquos group and participated in the initial planning stages of the operation Their involvement in these early preparations led to their arrestSujit KumarAnother accused identified as Sujit Kumar alias Babbu was arrested by the Mumbai Crime Branch on Friday He was allegedly involved in the conspiracy and was the first to identify the Sapra and Kanoujia gangs in connection with Siddiquersquos murder He previously lived in Chedda Nagar Ghatkopar Mumbai and was apprehended at his inlawsrsquo house in LudhianaBhagwat Om Singh 32Singh hails from Udaipur and allegedly provided weapons used in Siddiquersquos murder case he was staying in BKC and left for Belapur after Siddique was shot dead he is being probed about how he procured the weapon and what he was doing in BKC at the time of the murderAccused produced in court on Monday PICSAYYED SAMEER ABEDI Amit Kumar 29Kumar a resident of Kaithal Haryana is suspected by the Crime Branch to have been aware of the entire conspiracy He maintained contact with the key conspirator Jisan Akhtar who has been absconding He was released from Jalandhar prison on June 7 this year Another absconding accused is believed to have connected Kumar and Akhtar Sources indicate that Kumar received approximately R25 lakh in his account from an absconding accomplice which he withdrew and transferred to Akhtar in eight separate instalments Officials noted that Kumar who completed high school was running a liquor shop in HaryanaAbsconding accusedShubham LonkarLonkar is a key conspirator in the case suspected to have direct ties to Lawrence Bishnoi through Bishnoirsquos brother Anmol Bishnoi After Siddiquersquos murder Lonkar allegedly claimed responsibility on Facebook calling it revenge for the death of Anuj Thapan an accused in the Salman Khan case who reportedly died by suicide while in police custody In his post Lonkar also alleged that Siddique was close to Salman Khan and Dawood Ibrahim Although the Crime Branch has issued a LookOut Circular LOC for Lonkar he remains at large and is suspected to have fled the country through NepalJishan AkhtarA resident of Punjab with a criminal background Akhtar is said by Punjab police to have direct connections with Lawrence Bishnoi and his brother through a communication app According to police records he operates his own gang with approximately 22 members under him Akhtar was also in contact with Saurabh Mahakal previously questioned by the Mumbai Crime Branch in connection with a threat note found by Salim Khan during a walk However no links were confirmed between Mahakal and this case Akhtar is currently an absconding suspect in the Baba Siddique murder investigation and is believed to have coconspired with Shubham LonkarShivkumar GautamShivkumar Gautam was the main shooter in the Siddique murder case He fired six fatal rounds at the politician He is still abscondingChallenges for the Mumbai Crime BranchDespite arresting 15 suspects in Baba Siddiquersquos murder the Mumbai Crime Branch faces challenges as the main shooter Shivkumar Gautam and key conspirators Shubham Lonkar and Jishan Akhtar remain at large Investigators suspect Lawrence Bishnoi orchestrated the murder to send a message to Salman Khan with links found between the accused and Anmol Bishnoi However without Akhtar and Lonkar the motive remains unclear The Crime Branch is also considering an SRA project dispute as a possible motive but lacks evidence to support that theory