Ajit Pawar-Faction NCP Leader Baba Siddique Shot Dead In Mumbai, 2 Detained

Mumbai: Former Maharashtra minister and senior NCP leader Baba Siddique was shot dead outside his son’s office in Mumbai’s Bandra East on Saturday evening.

The veteran politician was immediately rushed to Lilavati Hospital, where the doctors declared him dead.

According to reports, three unidentified assailants fired three to four rounds at Siddique, hitting him in the chest.

Two persons, one from Uttar Pradesh and one from Haryana, have been detained and are currently being interrogated, Special Commissioner, Mumbai Police, Deven Bharti, told The Indian Express.

Calling the incident ‘unfortunate’, Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde said that efforts are on to nab the third assailant, who is absconding. “We will ensure that all guilty are arrested.”

Reports have linked the shooting to a controversy over slum redevelopment projects in Bandra, a constituency primarily occupied by slum dwellers.

Reacting to Siddique’s death, Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson Anand Dubey said, “If former MLAs are not safe in our city Mumbai, if leaders of the government are not safe then how will this government protect the common people? If they cannot keep their MLAs and former ministers safe then Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis should resign. He has no right to continue as the Home Minister. Eknath Shinde has no right to continue as the CM of the state. There is firing on the streets of Mumbai in broad daylight. Three rounds are being fired and people are being shot at… Is this law and order?… The criminals have no fear… The policies of the Mahayuti and BJP had maligned politics…”

Siddique, a three-time Bandra West MLA, had  joined the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), led by Ajit Pawar, after resigning from the Congress, his party of 48 years, in February this year, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. He was also known for his grand annual Iftar parties, which were attended by leading Bollywood stars such as Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, and Sanjay Dutt.

His son Zeeshan is a Congress MLA from Bandra (East) in Mumbai. However, he was expelled for anti-party activities in August.