Siddique killing case: Third accused Lonkar remanded to police custody till Oct 21 

A Mumbai court on Monday remanded the third person arrested for the killing of NCP leader Baba Siddique to police custody till October 21.

Pravin Lonkar was arrested on Sunday from Pune and is accused of enlisting two of the three alleged shooters who opened fire at Siddique on Saturday night in Mumbai's Bandra area.

He was produced before the court of magistrate VR Patil where the police sought his custody for interrogation to unearth the conspiracy behind the sensational killing.

As per the police, Pravin Lonkar's brother Shubham is allegedly associated with jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi.

The prosecution claimed Shubham Lonkar and other wanted accused had conspired the shooting and supplied arms to the gunmen who attacked the 66-year-old politician, a former MLA from Bandra (West).

They informed the court that Pravin Lonkar has to be taken to Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar for further probe into the case and hence his custody was required.

Pravin Lonkar's advocate Prashant Badkar refuted the allegations and said his client was being made a "scapegoat" as the police were unable to apprehend Shubham Lonkar.

The advocate maintained the killing was a sensitive case, but there cannot be any allegations of conspiracy against Pravin Lonkar, who runs a dairy shop.

The magistrate, after hearing both sides, remanded Pravin Lonkar to police custody till October 21.