Baba Siddique was murdered on October 12 as he was leaving the office of his son, an MP in the State of Maharashtra, who will go to the polls on November 20. Investigations so far point to the Bishnoi gang, accused by Canada of having carried out, together with Indian government officials, the murder of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. But in the past the group has also threatened Bollywood stars for killing antelopes, which are sacred to their community.
New Delhi () – On October 12, Baba Siddique, a politician from the State of Maharashtra, was attacked with firearms when he was leaving the office of his son, also a local MP, and a few hours later he died in hospital. The news had the effect of returning to the past in the country, nearly 30 years ago, when the murder of politicians and celebrities at the hands of Mumbai’s underworld gangs were much more common. And indeed, one of the suspects is Lawrence Bishnoi, 31, who has been in a maximum security prison in Gujarat since 2015 but still heads an organization that a few months ago was also accused by Canada of collaborating with the Indian government to eliminate Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, murdered in June last year.
So far the police have arrested four people, all between 19 and 23 years old: Gurmail Baljit Singh, a resident of Haryana; Dharmaraj Rajesh Kashyap, originally from Uttar Pradesh, both alleged murderers; Harishkumar Balakram Nisad, 23, and Pravin Lonkar, originally from the city of Pune, brother of Shubham Lonkar, who according to investigations was the first to write on Facebook that Lawrence Bishnoi’s gang was behind Siddique’s murder.
According to reconstructions by the Mumbai Police, the Lonkar brothers had sent Rs 50,000 to the two killers through Nisad. Shubham, who ran a dairy in Pune, was arrested in January for illegal possession of weapons (police seized more than ten) and interrogations revealed that he was in contact with Lawrence Bishnoi’s brother Anmol. After being released on bail, Shubham disappeared from the police radar on September 24. Mumbai Police has issued an arrest warrant for him and three other alleged perpetrators.
But why did the assassins attack Baba Siddique? Born in the State of Bihar, at the age of five he moved to Mumbai with his father, who was a watchmaker. In the 1980s he began his political career as a student leader of the Congress Party (now in opposition), and in 2004 he was appointed minister of the State of Maharashtra. In February, however, he switched sides and joined a faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) that, along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and a part of the Shiv Sena Party, controls the local government. .
However, more than for his political activity, Siddique, of Muslim religion, was known for the lustful parties that were held at his residence when he broke the fast during the month of Ramadan, in which Bollywood celebrities often participated. Among them was often Salman Khan, one of the most successful Indian actors. The son of a Muslim father and a Hindu mother, he has always refused to identify with one of the two religions, stating that he had grown up in both. Khan had already been attacked by Bishnoi because he had killed two blackbucks in 1998. In 2018 he was sentenced to five years in prison for poaching and is currently on bail while the Rajasthan High Court considers his appeal.
The Bishnoi communityconcentrated mainly in the Rajasthan desert, follows, in effect, the teachings of the guru Maharaj Jambaji, a Hindu who in 1485 established a series of religious precepts for the protection of nature. The Bishnoi have been called “eco-warriors” for their efforts to protect the environment, but Guru Jambaji’s teachings also include the veneration of cervicapra antelopes and the injunction: “If you show your power over animals, your end will be painful.” “. Some BJP leaders have proposed even Khan apologizes to the Bishnoi community for hurting their religious sentiments.
In reality, Lawrence Bishnoi’s group has been engaged in mafia-type activities since its origins, especially extortion of celebrities and drug and weapons smuggling. It is not clear, however, how Bishnoi coordinates the operations of his gang from prison, which, according to estimateshas 700 members across Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Delhi.
The reports published so far by local media are based on brief police statements and some aspects remain a mystery. However, India believes that some members of the gang operate from Canada. In response to Canadian accusations in recent days, New Delhi declared that had asked the Ottawa government several times to extradite Indian citizens allegedly involved with the Bishnoi group, including Lawrence’s right-hand man, Goldy Brar.
Salman Khan’s personal protection was reinforced this morning, when the Mumbai Police received new threatening messages demanding payment of Rs 50 million to put an end to the matter. But Siddique had also tightened security measures after receiving death threats.
His murder complicates the electoral race in the State of Maharashtra. The elections to which 96 million voters have been called will be held on November 20. In the last five years, however, there has been no shortage of confrontations between the government, formed by the Mahayuti alliance, and the opposition of the Maha Vikas Aghadi bloc, currently made up of the Congress and the factions of the Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party that have not joined the BJP.
In 2019, in fact, the Hindu ultranationalist party had obtained 105 seats, followed by the Shiv Sena, which had not yet divided and was its only ally, while the NCP (which had also not divided) had obtained 56 seats and the Congress, its ally, 44. Given the numbers, the Shiv Sena decided to abandon the BJP and form a coalition government, the Maha Vikas Aghadi, with the other parties. The Executive fell in 2022 due to internal divisions. But in the federal elections in June the Maha Vikas Aghadi won 30 of the 48 seats contested in Maharashtra.
The local electoral commission has already announced that there will be no place for political violence. While Siddique’s son, Zeeshan, a member of Congress, asked that his father’s death not be politicized.
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