Baba Siddique’s murder, Lawrence Bishnoi and link to Salman Khan, Dawood Ibrahim: All you need to know

A member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang reportedly claimed responsibility for the murder of former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique through a social media post that went viral on Sunday. It was reported early Sunday that the Bishnoi gang member also cited the reason for killing Siddique in his post. The viral post also mentioned the names of Bollywood star Salman Khan and underworld don Dawood Ibrahim.

Mumbai police said they have come across a viral post on social media in the name of an alleged member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang claiming responsibility for Siddique's killing. The two accused arrested in connection with the killing of the former Maharashtra minister claimed they were part of a gang run by Lawrence Bishnoi, NDTV reported.

Who is Lawrence Bishnoi?

Lawrence Bishnoi has been accused of running a crime gang that has carried out multiple killings. He is currently lodged in a jail in Gujarat. He was also allegedly involved in the conspiracy of the 2022 murder of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala from behind bars. He is facing over two dozen of cases of threat, extortion, murder and attempt to murder.

Some Bishnoi gang members had been held in connection with the firing outside Bollywood superstar Salman Khan's residence in Mumbai in April this year.

According to Business Today, Bishnoi first gained attention in 2018 when his associate, Sampath Nehra, admitted that he was instructed to kill actor Salman Khan because of the actor’s role in the Blackbuck poaching case of 1998.

Lawrence Bishnoi gang member killed Baba Siddique?

It's alleged that Baba Siddique was killed by the members of Lawrence Bishnoi's gang. NDTV reported on Sunday that the two accused arrested in the case claimed to have links with the Bishnoi gang. However, there is no official confirmation by the police on the matter.

Besides, a social media post linked to Siddique's murder went viral on Sunday. The post was allegedly made by a member of Bishnoi's gang on Facebook -wherein he cited the reason for killing NCP leader Siddique.

It's not yet ascertained whether it was a fake post. Mumbai police said they were verifying a social media post in which an alleged member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang has taken responsibility for the murder of former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique.

What did the viral post say?

The Facebook account with the name "Shubuu Lonkar Maharashtra" made the post on the social media platform on Sunday. Part of the viral post addressed actor Salman Khan. It named Anuj Thapan, who had fired outside Salman Khan's house and died in police custody in May.

It stated, “Salman Khan, hum ye jang nahi chahte the, pr tumne hamare bhai ka nuksaan karwaya...hamari kisi se koi dushmani nahi hai par jo bhi Salman Khan or Dawood gang ki help karega, apna hisab kitab laga ke rakhna... [Salman Khan, we don't want this war, but you have harmed our brother...we have no enmity with anyone, but whoever helps Salman Khan or Dawood gang, keep your accounts in check].”

The post further stated, "Hamare kisi bhi bhai ko koi bhi marwayega to hum pratikriya zaroor denge. Humne pehle vaar kabhi nahi kiya. [If anyone kills any of our brothers, we will definitely react. We have never attacked first]."

The viral Facebook post also mentioned, "Today, Baba Siddiqui's honor is being praised, he was once with Dawood under MCOCA [Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime] Act."

"Iske marne ka karan Anuj Thapan and Dawood ko Bollywood, politics and property dealing se jodna tha. [The reason for his death was Anuj Thapan and linking Dawood with Bollywood, politics, property dealing]," the post read.

The Mumbai Police has arrested two people in the case, twenty-three-year-old Gurmail Singh from Haryana and 19-year-old Dharamraj Kashyap from Uttar Pradesh. The search for the third accused is on.

Bishnoi-Salman rivalry, links to Baba Siddique and Dawood Ibrahim

Baba Siddique, a prominent Muslim leader from Mumbai, was also known to be close to several Bollywood stars, including Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan and Sanjay Dutt.

Salman Khan reportedly received threats from Lawrence Bishnoi and his gang on several occasions. He has been his target due to the 1998 black buck hunting case. In a 2023 interview with a news channel, Lawrence Bishnoi said Salman Khan had disrespected the Bishnoi community by killing a blackbuck, a sacred animal to them, news agency PTI reported on August 30.