The investigation into Baba Siddique’s murder has revealed a complicated network of suspects. So far, the police have arrested 14 people, with five scrap dealers playing a significant role in the plot. These dealers, mostly from Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh, worked under Harish Nishad, a scrap dealer based in Pune. Nishad is linked to the main suspects, including Shubham Lonkar and his brother Pravin, who has already been caught.
According to the police, 14 people were involved in the murder plot, with three more suspects still on the run. They were split into two groups one led by Nitin Sapre and Ram Kanojiya, and the other by Jisan Akhtar and Shubham Lonkar. One officer explained that “Kanojiya’s group pulled out due to money disputes,” as they knew Siddique was a powerful former minister.
Nishad runs a scrap business and has connections with the key suspect, Shubham Lonkar, and his arrested brother, Pravin. The main accused—Harish Nishad, Dharmaraj Kashyap, and Shivkumar Gautam (the primary shooter who is still at large), along with Ram Kanojiya and Kaluram Singh were all involved in the scrap trade. Jisan Akhtar, another suspect, is believed to have connected the Lonkar brothers with the other arrested individuals. According to the police, “all the arrested individuals are foot soldiers involved in arms supply.”
Initially, Kanojiya hesitated because of Siddique’s influence, demanding Rs 1 crore to go through with the killing. When the Lonkar brothers and Akhtar couldn’t meet this demand, they turned to scrap dealers, offering them Rs 4-5 lakh for handling logistics, with a promise of more money if the murder was successful.
The murder plan began in June, involving a group of men, including Nitin Sapre, Sambhaji Parbi, Ram Kanojiya, Pradeep Tomber, and Chetan Pardhi. Parbi, Tomber, and Pardhi lived in Ambernath, while Sapre was from Dombivli, and Kanojiya from Panvel. On October 23, three more suspects Rupesh Mohol, Karan Salve, and Shivam Kohad—were arrested. They all live in Pune.
At first, Kanojiya and Sapre were set to be the shooters. In early July, Kanojiya traveled to Udaipur to collect a firearm, returning to Mumbai on July 11. He and others even visited Siddique’s office and home to plan the attack but decided not to proceed.
The three recently arrested suspects Mohol, Salve, and Kohad—were linked to Pravin Lonkar. An officer mentioned that “Rupesh Mohol was influenced by a local gangster, Sharad Mahol, who has a criminal record.” Most of the suspects were neighbors of the Lonkar brothers. When the first group pulled out, other individuals, including Jisan Akhtar, Shivkumar Gautam, Gurmail Singh, Harish Nishad, Amit Kumar, Bhagwat Singh, Shubham Lonkar, and Pravin Lonkar, continued with the plan. The rest of those arrested only had knowledge of the conspiracy.