Mumbai, 13 Oct

Police on Sunday said they were verifying a social media post in which an alleged member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang has taken responsibility for the murder of former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique.

The 66-year-old NCP leader was waylaid by three persons at Kher Nagar in Mumbai's Bandra area just outside his MLA son Zeeshan Siddique's office and shot at on Saturday night.

He was taken to the Lilavati Hospital where he was declared dead.

According to a police official, they have come across a viral post on social media in the name of an alleged member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang claiming responsibility for Baba Siddique's murder.

"We have seen the viral social media post, we are verifying its authenticity," the official said.

Notably, some Bishnoi gang members had been held in connection with the firing outside Bollywood superstar Salman Khan's residence in Mumbai in April this year.

Baba Siddique, a prominent Muslim leader from Mumbai, was also known be close to several Bollywood stars, including Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan and Sanjay Dutt.

The Mumbai police have launched a probe into the killing of Siddique from different angles, including a possible contract killing, business rivalry or threat over a slum rehabilitation project, officials earlier said.

The murder is suspected to be a pre-planned act, a police official said.

In the morning, Siddique's body was shifted from the Lilavati Hospital in Bandra to Cooper Hospital in Vile Parle for an autopsy.

After the postmortem, the body was taken to his home at Maqba Heights in Bandra where people will be allowed to pay their last respects to Siddique in the evening.

The mortal remains of the NCP leader would be buried at Bada Kabrastan in Marine Lines area after 8.30 pm on Sunday following Namaz-E-Isha, an official said.

Security outside his house has been beefed up, he added. -PTI