The organisers of Sri Dharmik Leela Committee presented with a ”trishul” (trident) to the president and a ”gada” (mace) to the prime minister in a ceremonial welcome at the Dussehra programme.
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and Maharashtra’s former minister Baba Siddique was shot dead on Saturday. Reportedly, Siddique was hit by bullets in the stomach and chest in an assailant attack. He was rushed to the Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai. The political leader succumbed to injuries.
According to ANI, Baba Siddique was attacked inside his son’s office in Bandra, Mumbai. Siddique was in critical condition when he was taken to the hospital. As per the sources, two to three shots were fired at him around 9:30 pm. Two people have been detained in connection with the firing, NDTV reported.
As per the portal, Maharashtra Chief Mister Eknath Shinde has confirmed that two people were taken into custody. While one attacker is from Uttar Pradesh, the other one hails from Haryana. “Two people have been arrested, one from Uttar Pradesh and one from Haryana, while another is on the run,” Shinde said.
The chief minister informed that he asked the Mumbai police to take strict action.
Baba Siddique, a former Maharashtra minister and member of the Ajit Pawar faction of the NCP, has been shot at in Mumbai’s Bandra and rushed to a hospital, where his condition is said to be critical.
Sources said three bullets were fired at Mr Siddique around 9.30 pm on Saturday at the office of his son Zeeshan, who is the MLA from Bandra East. Two people have been taken into custody.
Mr Siddique is undergoing treatment at the hospital. Sources in the hospital said at least one of the bullets hit Mr Siddique in the chest and he is being given continuous cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
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 told NDTV that 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.