Accused in Baba Siddique murder claims to be minor, court orders age verification test
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A Mumbai court has ordered a bone ossification test to verify the age of the second accused in the murder case of former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique.
The accused, arrested from Uttar Pradesh, claims he is a minor, though his Aadhaar card lists his age as 19. The court has postponed his police custody until the test results are available.
Baba Siddique, 66, a prominent leader of Ajit Pawar’s faction of the Nationalist Congress Party, was shot dead outside his son Zeeshan Siddique’s office in Mumbai’s Bandra East. The notorious Lawrence Bishnoi gang has claimed responsibility for the assassination.
Police have arrested two suspects: Gurmail Baljit Singh, 23, from Haryana, and the alleged minor from Uttar Pradesh. A third accused, Shiv Kumar Gautam from UP, remains at large, along with their handler, whose identity has not been disclosed.
The murder has triggered a political storm ahead of state elections, with the Opposition Congress criticizing the Maharashtra government for the decline in law and order under Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge expressed their condolences and called for a transparent investigation to ensure swift justice and accountability.