Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Tuesday directed the Mumbai police to file a reply to a petition by Shehzeen Siddique, wife of former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique, seeking a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into his murder in October last year.
A bench of Justices A S Gadkari and R R Bhonsale on Tuesday directed the joint commissioner of police (Crime) and the investigation officer concerned to file their affidavits to the petition and posted the matter for hearing on December 11.
Shehzeen, in her plea, alleged that the police have intentionally avoided arresting the real culprits in the case by claiming the killing was ordered by Anmol Bishnoi, brother of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi.
She also said that she has a strong suspicion about the involvement of the builder lobby and a political leader behind her husband’s death.
She demanded that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) be set up for a probe into the killing.
Siddique, a three-time MLA and NCP (Ajit Pawar) leader, was gunned down on October 12, 2024, near his son Zeeshan’s office in Bandra. Four accused have been arrested, with police claiming links to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang.
While, the court directed the city police to file a reply to a petition, it also sought the police to produce the case diary of the probe on the next date, after there was confusion on whether the statement of Zeeshan Siddique was recorded.
While the police claimed that they had been in touch with Zeeshan, the petitioner’s lawyers, Pradip Gharat and Trivankumar Karnani, said his statement was not recorded.
In January this year, the police filed a chargesheet and Anmol Bishnoi was shown as a wanted accused in it.
As per the prosecution, Anmol Bishnoi hatched a conspiracy to kill Baba Siddique to instil fear and dominance over the crime syndicate.
As many as 26 arrested persons have been charge-sheeted in the case. All of them have been booked under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) and are currently in judicial custody.
