Shiv Kumar Gautam, the primary suspect in the murder of Maharashtra politician Baba Siddique, has revealed that he was ordered to kill either the 66-year-old leader or his MLA son, Zeeshan Siddique. The 20-year-old was apprehended with four accomplices in Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh, on Sunday while attempting to flee to Nepal.

Shiv Kumar is one of the three shooters involved in the killing of Baba Siddique outside Zeeshan Siddique’s office in Mumbai on October 12. The other two shooters, Gurmail Singh from Haryana and Dhramraj Kashyap from Uttar Pradesh, were arrested shortly after the crime, but Shiv Kumar managed to evade capture.

During interrogation, Shiv Kumar told police that Anmol Bishnoi, the brother of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, had instructed him to shoot whichever target he encountered first. Anmol Bishnoi, who is believed to be in Canada and is on the National Investigation Agency’s most-wanted list, reportedly encouraged Shiv Kumar by framing the murder as an act for “God and society.”

Before the attack, Anmol had reportedly given Shiv Kumar a motivational talk. A picture of Zeeshan Siddique, Baba Siddique’s son, was found on one of the shooters’ phones, indicating that Zeeshan was also a potential target.

After the murder, Shiv Kumar quickly changed his shirt to avoid identification and blended into the crowd. He then traveled from the crime scene to Kurla, took a local train to Thane, and later continued his journey to Pune. After staying in Pune for about a week, he moved to Jhansi and then Lucknow, where he bought a new mobile phone and contacted his aides. He eventually returned to his hometown in Bahraich, where he was sheltered by his accomplices in a village safehouse.

The police tracked down Shiv Kumar by monitoring the movements of around 45 people, including his family members and close associates. The investigation led them to four individuals who had been in constant contact with him. A joint operation by Mumbai and Uttar Pradesh police resulted in Shiv Kumar’s arrest in Bahraich on Sunday.

The case has seen over 20 arrests so far, with police also capturing those who helped Shiv Kumar escape, including Anurag Kashyap, Gyan Prakash Tripathi, Akash Srivastava, and Akhileshendra Pratap Singh.

Baba Siddique’s murder is believed to be linked to his close ties with actor Salman Khan, with Lawrence Bishnoi’s associates reportedly targeting Siddique over the actor’s alleged involvement in the killing of blackbucks two decades ago. The Bishnoi community holds blackbucks as sacred, fueling the animosity.