New Delhi: Praveen and Shubham Lonkar, members of Lawrence Bishnoi’s gang, are the newest suspects in the “well-oiled” conspiracy behind the murder of Nationalist Congress Party leader Baba Siddique.
Their alleged role in the incident came to light after a social media post, purportedly by Shubham, claimed that the Bishnoi gang was responsible for Siddique’s killing. But before the post went on to be widely circulated and Praveen was arrested from a hideout in Pune Sunday, the arms dealing brothers had been untraceable by the police for about four months.
The Lonkar brothers were arrested in January this year in an arms trading operation case and released on bail. They were supposed to keep visiting the local police station in Akot sub division of Maharashtra’s Akola district to mark their presence in the city, but had been missing since 13 June.
However, Akot Police went looking for them only after their names cropped up in the Siddique murder case and found their house abandoned. Shubham is still on the run.
Besides claiming responsibility for the murder, the post, the details of which are being examined by the Mumbai Police, also cited reasons, like Siddique’s closeness to Bollywood actor Salman Khan and his alleged links to gangster Dawood Ibrahim, for the murder. It also mentioned Anuj Thappan, who was accused of firing outside Salman’s house and died of alleged suicide in police custody.
Two persons—Gurmail Singh and Dharmaraj Kashyap—who were among the three alleged assailants, have been arrested for Siddique’s murder. Sources in Maharashtra Police have told ThePrint that the brothers were allegedly providing logistical support to the two accused.
Investigators have described the Lonkars as “young pawns”, who quickly rose through the ranks in Bishnoi’s gang, which is said to have over 700 members. Sources in the Maharashtra Police have confirmed that the brothers were procuring arms for the gang.
Anmol Mittal, Akot’s Assistant Superintendent of Police, told ThePrint, “They were arrested in January in an arms case and made bail. This was the first case lodged against them.”
Previous reports by ThePrint have explained how gangs recruit young blood with minimal or no cases lodged against them for contract killings and extortions for two reasons—they can exploit the legal process, make bail and are off the radar of central agencies.
“Akot was used as a transit path, where weapons were sourced and brought in from neighbouring states like Madhya Pradesh, where manufacturing of pistols and other ammunition takes place in a cottage industry format. Akot is 15 km from Madhya Pradesh border and is well connected, which is why it was used as the centre for storing and supplying arms to Pune and Mumbai,” a police source said.
Sources also said that the Lonkar brothers—especially Shubham—are among the highly placed senior operatives of the Bishnoi gang. “He (Shubham) quickly gained prominence and took care of their arms supply,” another source told ThePrint.
The investigators are now trying to locate the third assailant, who was allegedly the first one to open fire and shoot at Siddique. The police are also on the lookout for others, who provided logistical assistance to the killers.
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