Zeeshan named political leaders, builders, in his police statement

Former MLA Zeeshan Siddique, in his police statement, has named several builders and political leaders connected with slum rehabilitation (SRA) projects in Bandra and has sought a probe into their suspected link with the murder of his father Baba Siddique.

- Revu Suresh

MUMBAI: The Mumbai police, on their part, have maintained in the charge sheet that the NCP leader was killed by the Anmol Bishnoi gang on account of his close ties with actor Salman Khan.

"I had been fighting for the rights of those in SRA projects in Bandra East and West. Citizens were contacting me, as several developers were doing injustice to them," Zeeshan said in his police statement recorded on October 24. "Several of those builders, including Shahid Balwa, Shivalik Ventures, Adani, Nabil Patel, Vinod Goenka, Parvez Lakdawala, Mundra Builders, Vinay Thakkar, Omkar Builders, as also BJP leader Mohit Kamboj, were in regular touch with my father."

Zeeshan said that his father maintained a personal diary, and on October 12, the day he was shot, had mentioned Mohit Kamboj in it. "I later learned that Kamboj had spoken to my father via a WhatsApp call between 5.30 pm and 6 pm," he said. "He wanted to meet my father regarding a Mundra Builders project in Bandra East. I had received videos revealing that the builder had used bad words for my father while contacting slum dwellers."

While concluding his statement, Zeeshan demanded that a detailed investigation be undertaken of all the projects that he had mentioned. His statement forms part of the charge sheet filed by the crime branch on January 6 against the 26 arrested and three wanted accused. The latter include purported gang leader Anmol Bishnoi, brother of incarcerated gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, Pune resident Shubham Lonkar and Mohammed Yasin Akhtar, who coordinated with Bishnoi to allegedly execute the conspiracy.