'Siddique shooters, Bishnoi cousin spoke before murder'

MUMBAI: In the strongest lead connecting Baba Siddique's murder to Lawrence Bishnoi , police said the suspected three shooters who killed the NCP politician had communicated with the jailed gangster's Canada-based cousin, Anmol Bishnoi, through an instant messaging app before the murder. It is suspected Anmol sent them photos of Siddique and his son, MLA Zeeshan Siddique, through the app.

The city crime branch has stumbled upon some of the conversations that weren't deleted. Two of the suspected killers, Gurmail Singh and Dharmaraj Kashyap, are in custody, while the third Shivkumar Gautam, considered the primary shooter, is on the run. Seven others have also been arrested.

Earlier, a deleted social media post by a suspected Bishnoi recruit, Shubham Lonkar, had claimed responsibility for the murder on the gang's behalf. An officer said: "We have identified two layers - the shooters themselves and the weapon suppliers. Now, we are getting closer to the third layer, which could involve the conspirators and those who issued the killing contract." Investigators also claimed to have found photos of the suspected shooters conducting firing practice on September 13 .