Baba Siddique Murder:  Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique was shot dead by three people in Mumbai's Bandra East area on Saturday night. Officials said that two people were arrested immediately after the incident, which took place outside the office of Baba Siddique's son and MLA Zeeshan Siddique near Colgate Ground in Nirmal Nagar.

Former Congress leader Siddiqui (66) was admitted to Lilavati Hospital, where he died. Baba Siddiqui represented the Bandra (West) seat three times in the Assembly. Siddiqui, a prominent Muslim leader of Mumbai, was also known to be close to many Bollywood stars.

Zeeshan Siddiqui's life was saved narrowly.

Baba Siddiqui's son and MLA Zeeshan Siddiqui narrowly escaped death in this attack. Actually, Baba Siddiqui and Zeeshan were in their office in Kherwadi till 9 pm. Both were about to go home together at around 9:30 pm, but suddenly Zeeshan Siddiqui got a call and Zeeshan Siddiqui left the office to go to Kherwadi.

The attack was carried out amidst the sound of firecrackers

Just five minutes after Zeeshan Siddiqui left, Baba Siddiqui came out as usual to meet his workers. Baba Siddiqui's car was parked 100 meters away from the office. While meeting people, Baba Siddiqui's car was nearby when suddenly the sound of firecrackers was heard. At that very moment, Siddiqui was attacked.

What is the reason for the murder?

According to the police, preliminary investigation suggests that this attack may be related to the dispute over the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) project. Baba Siddiqui's son Zeeshan Siddiqui has been opposing this matter since a few days ago. In fact, in the year 2018, ED had attached Baba Siddiqui's property worth Rs 462 crore.

It was seized under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and the property was located in Bandra West. The ED was investigating whether Baba Siddiqui was the chairman of Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) from 2000 to 2004. During this time, he misused his position to help Pyramid Developers in the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) project being developed in Bandra. The amount of this alleged scam was said to be 2,000 crores.