The Lawrence Bishnoi gang has claimed responsibility for the murder of former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique, while also issuing a direct threat to Bollywood actor Salman Khan.
The gang, which has targeted Salman Khan for some time, conveyed its warning through a Facebook post allegedly made by Shubu Lonkar, an associate of the gang. In the post, Lonkar linked Siddique’s killing to the death of Anuj Thapan, who died by suicide on May 1 while in custody. Thapan had been arrested after firing shots outside Salman Khan’s Mumbai residence on April 14.
The post accused Salman Khan of being responsible for Thapan’s death, claiming Siddique’s murder was connected to his ties with Dawood Ibrahim, Anuj Thapan, and his dealings in Bollywood, politics, and real estate.
“We didn’t want this war, but you caused our brother to lose his life,” the post read, addressing Salman. “We have no personal enmity, but anyone supporting Salman Khan or the Dawood gang should expect retaliation.”
While police have yet to verify the authenticity of the post, they have arrested Pravin Lonkar, Shubham’s brother, who is suspected of being involved in the murder. The search for Shubham Lonkar is ongoing.
Baba Siddique, 66, a former minister and NCP leader, was shot dead by three assailants outside his son Zeeshan Siddique’s office in Kher Nagar, Bandra, on Saturday night. He was rushed to Lilavati Hospital but was declared dead on arrival.
According to the crime branch, Pravin Lonkar and Shubham recruited two shooters, Dharmaraj Rajesh Kashyap from Uttar Pradesh and Shivkumar Gautam, with Gautam currently evading capture. The police have arrested Kashyap, along with another suspect, Gurmail Baljit Singh, a 23-year-old from Haryana.
Salman Khan, a close friend of Siddique, rushed to the hospital that night to support the family and visited Siddique’s home on Sunday to pay his respects. Siddique was known in Bollywood for hosting grand Iftar parties, one of which famously ended a five-year feud between Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan.
Salman Khan has been a target of the Bishnoi gang since Lawrence Bishnoi threatened him over his alleged involvement in the 1998 Blackbuck poaching case, where the actor was accused of killing animals considered sacred by the Bishnoi community.
I am an experienced writer, analyst, and author. My exposure in English journalism spans more than 28 years. In the past, I have been working with daily The Muslim (Lahore Bureau), daily Business Recorder (Lahore/Islamabad Bureaus), Daily Times, Islamabad, daily The Nation (Lahore and Karachi). With daily The Nation, I have served as Resident Editor, Karachi. Since 2009, I have been working as a Freelance Writer/Editor for American organizations.
