Raj Kanojia, a 22-year-old man who suffered a bullet injury to his leg during the shooting of former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique, is grappling with the impact of the incident on his personal life. The shooting occurred on Saturday evening outside Siddique’s son Zeeshan Siddique’s office in Bandra, where six rounds were fired at the former minister, resulting in two bullets striking him in the chest. As Kanojia was returning from a fruit juice center, a stray bullet struck him, leaving him unable to participate in his sister’s wedding planned for February.
Lamenting his predicament from his hospital bed, Kanojia expressed, “What help, sir? I have been shot in the leg. My sister’s wedding is in February. I won’t be able to do much.” Dressed in a white kurta, he recounted the traumatic experience: “The atmosphere was such. It felt like crackers were being burst. I felt as if a cracker had exploded on my feet. When I checked, I found blood. Soon, chaos ensued. People started running everywhere, shouting that there had been a firing.” Hobbling on one leg, he managed to reach a nearby temple, where he was assisted before being taken to a hospital.
Authorities suspect that Siddique was targeted at the behest of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, who is currently imprisoned in Gujarat. Two shooters, Gurmail Baljit Singh and Dharmaraj Rajesh Kashyap, were arrested on the night of the shooting, while a third shooter, Shiv Kumar, managed to escape. Both Kashyap and Kumar hail from Gandara village in Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh, and had recently moved to Pune in search of work.
Kumar had previously boasted of his “gangster” status on social media, sharing images of himself on a motorcycle with captions that emphasized his criminal identity. The third accused, Pravin Lonkar, was remanded in police custody until October 21 for allegedly enlisting the two shooters who opened fire on Siddique. His brother, Shubham Lonkar, is also under investigation after claiming responsibility for the murder on social media.
The Mumbai Police have mobilized 15 teams to track down individuals connected to this high-profile murder case. Reports indicate that only one police constable was present with Siddique at the time of the shooting, which took place amid the Dussehra fireworks, providing cover for the assailants.
Sources By Agencies
