Baba Siddique murder: Absconding prime accused’s aide held in Jalandhar
According to SSP Harkamalpreet Singh Khakh, initial probe reveals Vishal had no direct link with Siddique’s murder but he remained associated with one of the accused, Akhtar, who is an accused in the murder.
The Jalandhar rural police have arrested a notorious criminal having close links with Zeeshan Akhtar, a close associate of Lawrence Bishnoi gang who is wanted in the killing of NCP leader and former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique.
The arrested accused has been identified as Vishal Sabharwal of Nakodar and has been evading arrest since 2021 in a case related to an extortion call of ₹30 lakh to a Jalandhar-based drug dealer.
Senior superintendent of police (SSP) Harkamalpreet Singh Khakh said as per the initial probe Vishal had no direct link with Siddique’s murder but he remained associated with one of the accused, Akhtar, who is an accused in the murder.
“The case dates back to September 2021 when the accused made a WhatsApp call to infamous woman drug-peddler Rano and demanded an extortion of ₹30 lakh and threatened to kill her son, Sher Kumar, if she failed to handover the amount,” Khakh said.
He added that five other gang members—Ankush, Zeeshan Akhtar, Gagangdeep Singh and Karnail Singh—were previously arrested in connection with this case.
“The accused has a history of serious criminal activities and will be produced before the court to seek police remand,” the SSP added.
It may be mentioned that the name of Zeeshan, a native of Jalandhar’s Shankar village, surfaced in the murder of Siddique, who was shot dead on October 12. His sister and mother had already died. He was arrested by Jalandhar rural police on July 6, 2022, in the Arms Act and robbery case and remained in Kapurthala and Patiala jails before he got bail in June this year. He came out on bail in June this year and didn’t return to his village.
