NEW DELHI, Oct 12: A former Maharashtra minister belonging to the Ajit Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party Baba Siddique was shot dead in Mumbai’s Bandra on Saturday.
Sources said three bullets were fired at Mr Siddique on Saturday evening at the office of his son Zeeshan, who is the MLA from Bandra East. He was rushed to the Lilavati Hospital where he breathed his last within a few hours.
Mr Siddique, who was a three-time MLA from Bandra West, was associated with the Congress for 48 years and had quit the party in February and joined Ajit Pawar’s NCP. Zeeshan Siddique was expelled from the Congress in August.
The firing took place on Dussehra and came months ahead of the Maharashtra Assembly elections, which are expected to be held later this year. Expressing his shock, NCP Spokesperson Brijmohan Shrivastav said Mr Siddique had not spoken about any threats from anybody.
Mr Siddique was elected as an MLA from the Bandra West constituency in 1999, 2004 and 2009 and served as a minister of state for food and civil supplies, labour and FDA between 2004 and 2008. The former MLA is known not just for his political acumen but also for hosting lavish parties. A cold war between superstars Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan was resolved at an iftaar party hosted by Mr Siddique in 2013.
(Manas Dasgupta)