Mumbai:  Shooters involved in the killing of NCP politician Baba Siddique learnt to handle firearms by watching videos on YouTube at a rented house in Kurla area of Mumbai, officials said on Wednesday. The accused practiced in a rented house in Kurla, Mumbai, ahead of the murder that took place on October 12.

Baba Siddique was shot dead outside his son Zeeshan Siddique’s office in Nirmal Nagar on October 12. Three shooters are believed to have carried out the attack. So far, the police have arrested four individuals, including Gurmail Baljit Singh (23) from Haryana, Dharmaraj Rajesh Kashyap (19) from Uttar Pradesh, and Harishkumar Balakram Nisad (23), along with co-conspirator Pravin Lonkar from Pune.

During interrogation, it was revealed that the wanted accused, Shivkumar Gautam, was hired as the main shooter due to his prior experience with guns, gained from celebratory firings at weddings in Uttar Pradesh. Gautam trained the other shooters, Gurmail Singh and Dharmaraj Kashyap, in handling firearms. The training took place at a rented house in Kurla, where they practiced loading and unloading weapons after watching instructional videos on YouTube. They performed "dry practice" (shooting without bullets) due to the lack of open space.

Links to Lawrence Bishnoi Gang

Police investigations also uncovered connections to the notorious Lawrence Bishnoi gang. One of the co-conspirators, Shubham Lonkar, had been questioned earlier in June regarding a firing incident outside actor Salman Khan’s residence, which was linked to the Bishnoi gang. Shubham, who runs a dairy in Pune, had been in communication with Lawrence Bishnoi's brother, Anmol.

Shubham was previously arrested in January in an Arms Act case in Maharashtra's Akola district, which led to the recovery of more than ten firearms. After his release on bail, Shubham became untraceable on September 24, despite being under police surveillance.

Use of social media to evade police

The accused used social media platforms such as Instagram and Snapchat to communicate, in an attempt to avoid being tracked by the police. Snapchat’s feature of auto-deleting messages helped them remain under the radar. Shubham Lonkar reportedly advised the others to use these apps to avoid detection.

In another update, police discovered a bag near the crime scene, which contained a pistol and an Aadhaar card belonging to the runaway shooter, Shivkumar Gautam. It is believed that Gautam discarded the bag while fleeing the scene of the murder.

The crime branch has seized a bike that the accused used to conduct a recce of Baba Siddique’s office and residence before the murder. Two helmets were also recovered from the rented house in Kurla where the accused stayed.

The investigation is ongoing as police search for the remaining suspects, including the main shooter, Shivkumar Gautam. Meanwhile, the arrested individuals are being interrogated for further details on the conspiracy.