Baba Siddique murder: One accused gets police custody till Oct 21; another sent for medical test

Mumbai, Oct 13 (IANS) A Mumbai court on Sunday remanded one of the two prime accused behind the killing of Nationalist Congress Party leader Baba Ziauddin Siddique to police custody till October 21 and the other for a medical test to determine his age status. 

While Gurnail Singh has been given police custody for a week, the other accused -- reportedly a minor -- has been sent for an ossification test to determine his true age, said a lawyer assisting the court.

The duo have been charged with shooting Siddique near his Congress MLA son Zeeshan Siddique's office in Nirmal Nagar, Bandra, on Saturday evening, sending shockwaves in political circles. They were presented at the Esplanade Court on Sunday afternoon.

A Mumbai Police official said that they are questioning the two arrested accused, while 15 police teams are on the lookout for the third accused, and they are collaborating with the police in other states.

The police have recovered 28 live bullets from the accused plus two mobiles and further investigations are underway into the conspiracy behind Siddique's suspected contract killing by the trio who came here from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on September 2.

He said that the Mumbai Police managed to nab two of the three assailants shortly after they shot Siddique, while the third one, identified as Shiva Kumar, managed to escape.

The responsibility for Siddique's elimination has been claimed by the Lawrence Bishnoi gang that targetted Bollywood actor Salman Khan and threatened his father Salim Khan on multiple occasions during the past year.

According to an official, among the angles being probed by the police are - who had authorised the killing, the international tentacles to the crime, the exact motives behind the fatal attack on Siddique, how the shooters got the weapons, the cash and the getaway vehicle, with 28 live cartridges found, whether there were other potential targets, and other things.