On Sunday, 13th October, a screenshot of a Facebook post went viral on social media, in which a member of the Lawrence Bishnoi Gang appeared to have claimed responsibility for the murder of senior NCP leader and former Maharashtra minister, Baba Siddique.
Written in broken Hindi, the post began with slogans praising Bhagwan Ram, followed by: “I understand the essence of life, and consider wealth and the body as dust. I did a good deed and honoured the duty of friendship.”
The post in Hindi read, “Om Jai Shri Ram, Jai Bharat. I understand the essence of life, and I consider the body and wealth as mere dust. What was done was righteous, and the duty of friendship was upheld. Salman Khan, we did not want this fight, but you harmed our brother. Today, those who are praising Baba Siddique’s decency should remember that he was once involved with Dawood under the MCOCA Act. The reason for this death was to expose Anuj Thapan and the connection between Dawood, Bollywood, politics, and property dealings. We have no enmity with anyone, but whoever helps Salman Khan and the Dawood gang should be prepared to settle their accounts. If anyone harms any of our brothers, we will surely retaliate. We have never struck first. Jai Shri Ram, Jai Bharat. Salute to the martyrs. #LawrenceBishnoiGroup #AnmolBishnoi #AnkitBhaduSherewala”.
Questionable authenticity of the post
However, there are several aspects of the Facebook post in question that raise concerns over its authenticity. First of all, the handle from which the post was claimed to have been made does not exist on Facebook. Even if we assume that the handle was deleted after the post went viral, it should have at least appeared in a Google search. Furthermore, the icons that appeared in the screenshot are those that are shown when someone is about to make a post, as seen in the image below. On the left side, you can see the viral post, and on the right side is the screenshot of the “new post” section of Facebook. If someone is viewing a post, these icons will not appear.
The handle in a Facebook post allegedly by Lawrence Bishnoi gang member was named Shubuu Lonkar Maharashtra. There is a Lawrance Bishnoi gang member named Shubham Lonkar who was arrested in February 2024. It is unclear if he came out of jail since then or not.
While the authenticity of the post is questionable, there are other aspects that have linked the murder to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. Notably, the Mumbai police have confirmed the involvement of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi in Siddique’s killing. Two of the three killers have been detained by the police. Based on their interrogation and the investigation so far, the police have concluded that the gang was behind the crime.
While Lawrence Bishnoi is lodged in Sabarmati Central Jail in Ahmedabad, his brother Anmol and top aide Rohit Godara, suspected to be based out of the United States and Canada, have been running his gang from the outside.
Murder of Baba Siddique
On Saturday, 12th October, former Maharashtra minister and leader of Ajit Pawar’s NCP, Baba Siddique, was shot dead by three assailants possibly linked to Lawrence Bishnoi gang in Mumbai. He was shot in the chest and stomach. The 66-year-old politician was rushed to Lilavati Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.
The incident took place around 9:30 PM outside Siddique’s son and Maharashtra MLA Zeeshan Siddique’s office in Bandra East. At the time of the incident, Siddique was bursting firecrackers to celebrate Dussehra. Reportedly, three assailants emerged from a vehicle with covered faces. They opened fire at Siddique using a 9.9mm pistol and fired three rounds. One of the bullets struck Siddique in the chest, and he collapsed. One of the bullets hit the windscreen of his vehicle. Three bullet casings from the scene were recovered by the police.
According to media reports, Mumbai police have arrested two of the three assailants, identified as Karnail Singh and Dharamraj Kashyap. During questioning, they claimed to be members of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. Reportedly, they informed the police that they had been monitoring Siddique’s movements for the last month. One of them hails from Uttar Pradesh, and the other from Haryana. The third suspect in the case is on the run.
