Baba Siddique Murder Case – Daughter Seeks Anmol Bishnoi’s Custody
Baba Siddique Murder Case – A new application has been filed before a special court in the murder case of NCP leader and former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique. His daughter, Shahzeen Ziauddin Siddique, has asked the court to seek details from the Mumbai Crime Branch about its efforts to obtain the custody of wanted accused Anmol Bishnoi.
Plea seeks production of accused before special court
In the application, Shahzeen Siddique has requested that Anmol Bishnoi be brought before the court and tried alongside the other accused already facing proceedings in the case. She has said that the chargesheet identifies him as a principal accused, but alleges that the Crime Branch has not taken adequate steps to question him or secure his custody in connection with the murder investigation.
The plea says Anmol Bishnoi is described in the chargesheet as a key figure linked to the Bishnoi gang. It argues that his examination could be important to the investigation, particularly in establishing the alleged motive and determining whether other people were involved in planning the crime.
Family cites information shared with investigators
According to the petition, the Siddique family learned independently that Anmol Bishnoi was in the custody of the United States Department of Homeland Security in Iowa. Shahzeen has stated that this information was passed on to Mumbai Crime Branch officers.
However, she has alleged that the agency did not move quickly enough to begin the legal process required to obtain his custody or bring him to India. These submissions form part of the petitioner’s case before the court and have not yet been adjudicated.
Questions raised over wider investigation
The application refers to the arrests made after Baba Siddique’s killing, including the three alleged shooters. It states that 27 people were eventually arrested in the matter. Despite those arrests, Shahzeen has contended that the investigation did not fully identify the motive behind the murder or examine the alleged wider conspiracy.
She has also raised concerns about information provided by her brother, Zeeshan Siddique, who is a witness in the case. The plea says Zeeshan named certain individuals in his statement and that investigators should have questioned them. According to the family, those persons were not examined and no further inquiry was pursued on the basis of the information he supplied.
RTI requests did not provide details
The family had also sought information about Anmol Bishnoi through the Right to Information Act, the petition says. The investigating officer reportedly declined to provide the requested material, citing confidentiality.
An appeal was then made before the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Crime, but the information was again not disclosed, according to the application. Shahzeen has argued that the family was not told what specific measures, if any, had been taken to obtain Bishnoi’s custody or bring him before the Mumbai court.
NIA custody mentioned in application
The petition states that Anmol Bishnoi was later sent to India by US authorities. It says he was subsequently held by the National Investigation Agency in another case and was remanded to judicial custody after that investigation was completed.
Shahzeen has argued that this period gave the Mumbai Crime Branch an opportunity to seek his custody for questioning in Baba Siddique’s murder case. The application alleges that no such request was made.
Trial proceedings have already begun
Charges have been framed against 27 accused, and the trial is scheduled to begin. During an earlier hearing, the special court reportedly asked the Special Public Prosecutor to explain the steps taken to secure Anmol Bishnoi’s presence. The petitioner has said the prosecution did not provide a satisfactory explanation.
Advocates Pradip Gharat and Trivankumar Karnani, appearing for Shahzeen Siddique, submitted that questioning Anmol Bishnoi could assist in identifying the alleged motive, the scope of the conspiracy and the people who may have directed the crime.
The application warns that if he is arrested in the case at a later stage, the trial could face further delays and may need to be reconsidered. Shahzeen has therefore asked the court to direct the Crime Branch to take him into custody and produce him without delay. The court has not yet recorded findings on the allegations made in the plea.