3 cops suspended after Bishnoi gang shooter in custody speaks to reporters on Baba Siddique

Three policemen have been suspended for alleged negligence in duty, taking cognisance of videos in which a sharpshooter of Lawrence Bishnoi gang interacts with reporters while in police custody and comments on NCP leader Baba Siddique’s killing, officials said on Saturday.

In the purported videos that went viral on social media, Yogesh (26) alias Raju said Siddique, who was killed in Mumbai recently, was not a good man and had connections with India’s most-wanted criminal Dawood Ibrahim.

Taking action in the matter, Mathura Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Shailesh Kumar Pandey on Friday night ordered the suspension of three policemen, including a sub-inspector, the officials said.

According to the officials, Yogesh is associated with the Lawrence Bishnoi-Hashim Baba gangs. He has been arrested in connection with last month’s killing of gym owner Nadir Shah in Delhi’s Greater Kailash area.

However, they said Yogesh is not linked with the killing of Baba Siddique, a former Maharashtra minister, on October 12. Siddique was shot dead outside his MLA son Zeeshan Siddique’s office in Mumbai’s upscale Bandra area.

Yogesh was arrested on Thursday morning after he suffered injuries in an encounter with a joint team of the Delhi Police’s Special Cell and the Mathura Police. The police seized a .32-bore pistol, ammunition and a motorcycle from his possession.

After being shot in the leg, Raju was taken to the district hospital, where he made statements about Siddique while speaking to reporters on Thursday.

While being transferred from the district hospital to the district jail, Raju made additional statements on camera to some media persons. Several videos of his comments went viral on social media, and the incident was also covered by news channels and newspapers.

SP (City) Arvind Kumar said the police took action following Yogesh’s media statements. SSP Shailesh Kumar Pandey suspended Sub-Inspector Ramsanehi, Head Constable Vipin Kumar, and Constable Sanjay Kumar for negligence in security of the accused, he said.

An inquiry has been initiated, and a deputy superintendent of police has been directed to investigate and submit a report, Kumar added.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Yogesh had said, “Baba Siddique was killed because he was not a good man. There were charges against him under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act. It is said that he was associated with Dawood, the man behind the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts. When people get involved with such individuals, something is bound to happen. This is exactly what happened to Siddique.”

Talking about criminals gathering information before committing a crime, he said, “These days we have mobile phones, the internet, Google and so on. We can find out a lot about a person through these means.”

Regarding the murder case in Delhi, Yogesh claimed that he had no direct contact with anyone. “It was only through my friends from Delhi that we communicated,” he said.

“We are given direct targets. Anyone who gets in the way and does something wrong will face consequences,” he added.