Baba Siddiqui’s killer arrested
– Photo: Amar Ujala
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Mumbai Police has arrested Shivkumar Gautam alias Shiva, the main shooter of NCP leader Baba Siddiqui, on Sunday. Gautam’s arrest was made possible by a late night phone call of four friends. These four friends were talking to each other through social media apps, which made the police suspicious.
Mumbai Crime Branch and Special Task Force (STF) of Uttar Pradesh Police arrested Shiva on Sunday in Nanpara area of Uttar Pradesh near the Nepal border, a police officer said on Monday. During this time, the police also arrested his friends Anurag Kashyap, Gyan Prakash Tripathi, Akash Srivastava and Akhilendra Pratap Singh.
Friends wanted to send Gautam away through Nepal
The police officer said that the investigation started with the suspicious activities of the four friends of the main shooter Gautam. The four friends had planned to meet Gautam in a remote forest, about 10 kilometers from Nanpara. After buying clothes, he reached the forest on bike. According to officials, the police later learned that they wanted to help Shiva escape the country via Nepal.
Gautam had bought a mobile phone in Lucknow
According to the police, the main shooter Shiva had purchased the mobile phone in Lucknow. The four friends were in constant touch with Gautam through internet calls on this phone. Late in the night, a phone call attracted the attention of the authorities and increased surveillance.
Baba Siddiqui was shot on October 12
Gautam had shot Baba Siddiqui at close range in Mumbai’s Bandra area on October 12. After this he fled to Pune, Lucknow and then Nanpara. He was preparing to escape to Nepal. After the shooting, he initially reached Kurla and from there boarded a local train to Thane. During this, he threw his bag and mobile phone there.
Took refuge near Nepal border
After this, he reached Pune at 3.30 am on 13th October and then boarded the train for Lucknow. According to officials, during the journey, Shiva made several calls to his handlers from passenger phones. After this the accused reached his native place Bahraich and then went to Nanpara. Gautam took shelter in a settlement of 10-15 huts near the Nepal border, about 10 kilometers from Nanpara.
Police reached four friends of Gautam during investigation
During the investigation, the police started keeping an eye on a group of 10-12 people close to Gautam, out of which four friends came forward as helpers. Surveillance revealed that these people were tech-savvy and were buying clothes for Shiva in preparation for his escape. The police started keeping an eye on their activities.
A Mumbai court on Monday sent Shivkumar Gautam and four others to police custody till November 19 to help investigators probe financial transactions and purchase of firearms.
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