Baba Siddique Murder: Main Shooter Stood Outside Lilavati Hospital for 30 Minutes to Confirm Death

Mumbai: Shiv Kumar Gautam, the shooter in the NCP leader Baba Siddique murder case, revealed to police that after the firing, he waited outside the Lilavati Hospital - where the former state minister was taken - to ascertain whether he died or survived the attack, media reports citing police claimed.

The assaliant who quickly changed his clothes after the shoot out, told the police that he stood among the crowd outside the hospital for about 30 minutes. It is learnt that he left the hospital as soon he came to know that the 66-year-old politician's condition was very critical.

The 66-year-old was targeted by shooters in Mumbai's Bandra, outside his MLA son's office, on October 12 at around 9:11 pm. The firing left the NCP ( Ajit Pawar faction) leader with two bullet injuries on his chest. Immediately, he was rushed to the Lilavati Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

Reports suggest that as per the initial plan, the accused was supposed to meet his associates - Dharmaraj Kashyap and Gurmail Singh at the Ujjain railway station - from where a member of the Bishnoi gang would take them to Vaishno Devi. However, the events didn't unfold as expected as Kashyap and Singh were caught by the police.

How police nabbed main accused

The late-night conversations on mobile phones by main accused's four friends was a significant link that helped the Mumbai police trace Gautam, who was arrested on Sunday.

In a joint operation, the Mumbai Crime Branch and the Uttar Pradesh Police Special Task Force (STF) arrested Gautam along with Anurag Kashyap, Gyan Prakash Tripathi, Akash Srivastava and Akhilendra Pratap Singh near the Nepal border.

According to police, the probe was triggered by suspicious activities of Gautam's four friends, who were seen buying clothes in different sizes and planning to meet him in a remote forest. They were in constant touch with the shooter via internet calls on mobile phones - which were purchased in Lucknow, news agency PTI reported.

Police said the Gautam's aides were planning to assist him in fleeing the country.

Following the shootout, Gautam went to Kurla from the crime spot, boarded a local train to Thane, and then fled to Pune - where he reportedly dumped his mobile phone. He lived in Pune for around seven days before travelling to Uttar Pradesh's Jhansi and Lucknow.

Earlier on Sunday, Gautam was found hiding in the hamlet of 10 to 15 hutments, around 10 km from Uttar Pradesh's Nanpara.