Mumbai: Pravin Lonkar, who was arrested on charges of being involved in the conspiracy related to the murder of Baba Siddiqui, a leader from the Ajit Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party and a former Minister of State, has been remanded to police custody until October 21 by the court. Meanwhile, the claim by accused Dharamraj Kashyap that he is a minor was proven false after an ossification test conducted at Sir J.J. Hospital. He has also been sent to police custody until October 21. According to police officials, the ossification test revealed that Dharamraj Kashyap is 20 years old.
According to a police officer, the Crime Branch has seized two Aadhaar cards from Dharamraj Kashyap. One Aadhaar card was found in the name of Ranjan Kumar Gupta, and the other in the name of Dharamraj Kashyap. Both Aadhaar cards had the photo of the accused, Dharamraj. However, the police investigation revealed that both Aadhaar cards were fake.
A Facebook post on the "Shubhuu Lonkar Maharashtra" account claimed responsibility for the murder of Baba Siddiqui on behalf of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. This led to Shubham Lonkar and his brother Pravin coming under the radar of the Mumbai police. When the police searched their native village in Akot Taluka, it was discovered that both brothers had left the village in June 2024.
Finally, Mumbai police tracked down and arrested Pravin Lonkar (28) in Pune. After his arrest, he underwent a medical examination and was produced in Killa Court on October 14. The police argued that Pravin's custody was necessary for further investigation, including travel to Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Bihar with the accused.
Public Prosecutor S.N. Vaidya claimed that Pravin's brother, Shubham, had alleged connections with jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and was involved in plotting the shooting of Baba Siddiqui and supplying weapons to the shooters involved in the attack.
Pravin's lawyer strongly opposed the request for police custody, arguing that Pravin was being made a scapegoat because the police had failed to capture Shubham Lonkar. He also pointed out that Pravin was taken from his house at 4 AM on Sunday, but the arrest was officially made in the evening. Furthermore, Pravin did not attempt to flee when the police arrived at his house.
