Baba Siddique murder: Zeeshan Siddique alleges police are protecting builders

Baba Siddique (left) and Zeeshan Siddique. File Pic/Satej Shinde

The motive behind my father's assassination, as outlined in the charge sheet filed by the Mumbai Crime Branch, is nothing but an eyewash and a cover-up. I strongly suspect the builder lobby is behind my father's murder, and I have revealed everything to the Mumbai Crime Branch, including the names of the builders I suspect. But no investigation has been conducted," said Zeeshan Siddique, son of political leader Baba Siddique who was assassinated on October 12, 2024.

As per the charge sheet, the Crime Branch has identified three motives behind Siddique's assassination: His close association with Salman Khan; the Bishnoi gang's aim to establish supremacy in Mumbai to extort from Bollywood and businessmen; and the custodial death of Anuj Thapan, an accused in the Salman Khan firing case, which the Bishnoi gang alleges was a murder carried out on Salman Khan's instructions.

Zeeshan Siddique. Pic/Kirti Surve Parade

"I want to ask the authorities what steps have been taken regarding my allegations. Which builders have been summoned, and were their mobile tower locations checked?" Siddique said while speaking with mid-day. "While I will not reveal the names of the builder publicly, all of them are mentioned in my statement," Siddique said.

"I also questioned the police about a rumour of a firing outside my home just a few months before my father's death. Who spread that rumour, and why hasn't the person responsible been identified?" he added. mid-day had reported that on May 21, there was a rumour of a firing outside Siddique's house while both father and son were in London. Six months later, Siddique was actually shot by members of the Bishnoi gang in Bandra East.

Zeeshan Siddique has raised questions about the investigation, asking how the Crime Branch ruled out the SRA angle and arrived at conclusions about the motive behind his father's assassination while he was under police protection.

"The key conspirators - Zeeshan Akhtar, Shubham Lonkar, and Anmol Bishnoi - are still at large. Without their statements, how has the Crime Branch determined the motive? Has the statement of Anmol Bishnoi been recorded, confessing to the motive and detailing my father's assassination? Without his statement, how will they uncover which builder might have communicated with him to plan my father's murder? The individuals arrested so far are only shooters and part of the conspiracy - how would theyknow about the motive?" he asked.

He also pointed to an FIR registered against him last year in September by the Kherwadi police after he opposed an illegal survey being conducted at Sant Dnyaneshwar Nagar without the consent of the residents. "I wanted the Crime Branch to investigate who instructed that FIR to be filed. The same people might also be involved in my father's assassination," he added.

Zeeshan further told mid-day that he has learned this from media reports and now plans to obtain the charge sheet from the court to review what the Crime Branch has done and understand the reasons behind ruling out the SRA angle as the motive, which he and his family strongly suspect. mid-day reached out to senior officers of the Crime Branch for comment, but there was no response till the time of going to press.