Mumbai, Nov 30 (IANS) In a major step into the murder probe of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Baba Siddique, the Mumbai Police declared gangster Anmol Bishnoi a ‘wanted accused’ and slapped the draconian Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against 26 others involved in the killing, here on Saturday.

Police officials said that while 26 accused including three sharp shooters have been arrested, they are on the lookout for three other fugitives including Anmol Bishnoi – the younger brother of jailed mafia leader Lawrence Bishnoi.

“The provisions of the MCOCA, 1999, have been invoked in this (Siddique murder) case. The investigation is ongoing. As of now, 26 accused have been arrested, while three accused – Anmol Bishnoi, Shubham Rameshwar Lonkar, and Zishan Mohammad Akhtar - are wanted accused in the case,” police officials said on Saturday.

Anmol Bishnoi, 26, who was holed up in the US, was detained last fortnight and later arrested by the local US law enforcers. He is currently cooling his heels in custody at the Pottawattamie County Jail in Iowa State.

On October 12, Siddique (66), a senior NCP leader and ex-Congress Minister having close links with Bollywood and business circles, was shot dead outside his son Zeeshan Siddique's office in Bandra East, at the height of the Dassehra Day celebrations, sparking a national political furore.

Initially, the Nirmal Nagar Police Station registered an FIR on the incident, and subsequently, the Crime Branch-CID also entered the investigations given the political implications ahead of the just-concluded November 20 Maharashtra Assembly elections.

Probing the case, the Mumbai Police have arrested 26 accused in an ongoing operation spread across several districts of the state and other states.

The police had filed the case under BNS Sections 103(1), 109, 125, and 3(5), read with Sections 3, 5, 25, and 27 of the Arms Act and Sections 37 and 135 of the Maharashtra Police Act (MPA), and now additional charges under MCOCA.

The police have so far seized five weapons and 64 bullets from the accused, who include three sharpshooters, assigned the task of eliminating Siddique or his son Zeeshan B. Siddique.

Lawyers explained that confessions made before the police under MCOCA are admissible as evidence in the court and it is difficult to retract them or secure bail.

Besides the Siddique killing, the Bishnois have also been allegedly involved in the multiple death threats to Bollywood legend Salim Khan and his actor son Salman Khan, besides a firing carried out at their Bandra home on April 14.

Courtesy Media Group: IANS

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