NEW DELHI: The Mumbai Crime Branch has unearthed a plot by the Lawrence Bishnoi gang to assassinate a big political leader from Pune, a senior police officer revealed.
This discovery surfaced during the ongoing probe into the murder of NCP leader Baba Siddique.
"The Lawrence Bishnoi gang was planning to kill the Pune leader too, and the responsibility of carrying out the crime was given to the shooters involved in Plan B," the officer said.
The plan was uncovered when the crime branch seized a pistol intended for the assassination. Although the identity of the targeted Pune leader remains confidential, Mumbai police have passed along this information to Pune authorities.
This follows the recent arrest of Gaurav Vilas Apune, a suspected shooter tied to Siddique's murder.
Investigations revealed that Apune was part of the gang's "Plan B," a contingency if their initial attempt on Siddique's life failed.
Apune admitted that he and another suspect, Rupesh Mohol, had traveled to Jharkhand on July 28th for firearm training under the guidance of Shubham Lonkar, believed to be the mastermind behind Siddique's murder.
The pair returned to Pune on July 29th after a day of practice.
The Mumbai Crime Branch is currently working to identify the exact location in Jharkhand where the training took place as their investigation proceeds.
Baba Siddique murderFormer Maharashtra minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader from the Ajit Pawar faction, Baba Siddique, was reportedly shot and killed by three men in Mumbai’s Bandra area on Saturday, October 12, 2024.
The incident occurred outside the office of his son, Zeeshan Siddique, in Neelamnagar.
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