Mumbai, Oct 12 Senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Baba Ziauddin Siddiqui, an ally of the Maharashtra government, was shot dead near Nirmal Nagar in Bandra East on Saturday.
According to information, at least two-three people ambushed him outside his office and attacked him. As soon as he reached the office, the attackers came running and fired several rounds of bullets at businessman-cum-politician Siddiqui. He was hit by two-three bullets, one of which hit his chest.
An associate standing nearby was also shot in the leg. The incident took place around 9.30 pm. The attackers fired shots and fled from the spot.
Initially, people did not pay much attention to it as the sound of gunfire was lost in the sounds of firecrackers due to effigy burning at various places. As soon as some people realised that there was a shootout, his colleagues and others rushed him to Lilavati Hospital in Bandra West, but he had died by then.
As soon as the information was received, leaders of NCP, Congress and Mahayuti and a large number of his supporters rushed to the hospital. His Congress MLA son Zeeshan B. Siddiqui, his close friend and Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt, among others, also rushed to the hospital.
According to a police officer, two people were detained from Andheri East soon after the shootout and further investigation is underway by the Crime Branch.
Though the motive behind the murder of Siddiqui, an influential and prominent minority community leader, is not clear, it is tentatively suspected to be a result of business rivalry.
A Congress stalwart for decades and a close associate of former Union minister Sunil Dutt and his daughter Priya Dutt, Siddiqui joined Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party in February ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
There is talk that his son Zeeshan may also quit the Congress ahead of the upcoming assembly elections.
Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) leaders have criticised the Mahayuti regime for the sensational killing of Siddiqui and demanded the resignation of Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
