Baba Siddique murder: Non-bailable warrants against Bishnoi, 2 other key conspirators

MUMBAI: A special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court on Wednesday issued non-bailable warrants (NBWs) against gangsters Anmol Bishnoi, Shubham Lonkar, and Mohammed Yasin Akhtar, the alleged key conspirators behind the murder of former Maharashtra minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ziauddin aka Baba Siddique.

Special judge BD Shelke issued the standing non-bailable warrants against the trio, which enables the police to get Red Corner notices issued against them. All three were named as wanted accused in the charge-sheet filed by the Mumbai crime branch in the special court nearly two weeks ago.

Anmol Bishnoi, younger brother of incarcerated gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, was arrested in the United States in November 2024 after his Indian passport was found to be made on an assumed identity. A standing non-bailable warrant was issued against him in connection with the firing at actor Salman Khan’s Bandra residence in April 2024, and the Mumbai police have put up a request with authorities in the US to extradite him based on that NBW.

Bishnoi is accused of orchestrating the murder of Siddique, while Pune residents Shubham Lonkar and Mohammed Yasin Akhtar are accused of coordinating with Bishnoi to execute the conspiracy.

The prosecution contends that Bishnoi, named as the mastermind behind the murder, provided firearms and live cartridges to the shooters. Apart from funding the operation, he was in touch with Lonkar and other accused via two snapchat handles, sunnys20242940 and amit_pandit572, through which he issued instructions for killing Siddique.

Lonkar, who posted the viral Facebook video claiming responsibility for Siddique’s murder, is an active member of the Bishnoi gang, the prosecution told the court on Wednesday, seeking a non-bailable warrant against him.

Lonkar paid ₹10,000 to Gurmail Singh and ₹20,000 to Harish Kumar Kashyap to assist the alleged shooters and arrested accused Shivakumar Gautam and Dharmraj Kashyap, whereas Akhtar coordinated with the shooters via Snapchat, Instagram and WhatsApp, the prosecution told the court. Both Akhtar and Lonkar absconded after the murder to escape arrest in the case, the prosecution added.

The court observed that there was sufficient material on record to show complicity of Bishnoi, Lonkar and Akhtar in the case, although the squad appointed by the investigating agency was unable to trace them.

In the case of Bishnoi, the court observed, “The report of the ACP (assistant police commissioner) in present case demonstrates that they have made efforts to trace out the accused at his permanent address Dhutrawali, Bahavwala, Tehsil Abohar, Dist. Fajilaka in Punjab State, however he is not found on his permanent address.”

The court noted that it had already issued a request for the deportation of Bishnoi in connection with the firing at Salman Khan’s residence and issued standing non-bailable warrants against the three wanted accused to secure their presence.