In this Sunday, July 21, 2013 file photo, then Congress leader Baba Siddique with actors Salman Khan during an Iftar party, in Mumbai. Three unidentified persons fired at and injured Baba Siddiqui of the Ajit Pawar-led NCP in Mumbai’s Bandra East on Saturday evening.
A Lawrence Bishnoi gang member on Sunday claimed responsibility for the killing of NCP leader Baba Siddique and alleged that the attack had been carried out as the politician was close to Bollywood actor Salman Khan. Former Maharashtra Minister Baba Siddique was shot at by three persons outside his son’s office in Bandra on Saturday night. He was taken to the Lilavati Hospital where he was declared dead.
Baba Siddiqui was the MLA of Bandra West, Mumbai’s posh western suburb. This is where the biggest Bollywood stars, including Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan live. Baba entered politics in the late 1970s under the mentorship of Bollywood legend and politician Sunil Dutt. Baba was the MLA of Bandra East for 15 years, and was a State Minister for Food and Drug Administration between 2004 to 2008.
Bandra West is part of the Lok Sabha constituency that Sunil Dutt—a respected name in Bollywood as well as in politics—and his daughter Priya Dutt represented in 2004 and 2009. Sunil’s son, also a Bollywood superstar, Sanjay Dutt has been Baba’s close friend. When there were rumours of rivalry between Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan, it was Baba’s Iftar party where both the Khans met and reconciled. Such was the aura of Baba Siddique in Bollywood.
In this photograph taken on July 2013, then Congress leader Baba Siddique is flanked by actors Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan at an Iftar party in Mumbai. | Photo Credit: PTI
Bishnoi’s claim is based on this proximity. Bishnoi, a gangster, the story goes, wants to kill Salman Khan, because he believes that Salman is guilty in the blackbuck hunting case of 1998. The Bishnoi community of Rajasthan respects the blackbuck as a deity. Lawrence Bishnoi is from Punjab. Lawrence reportedly said that those are friends with Salman Khan will meet with the same fate.