Mumbai, July 4
A significant legal development has emerged in the murder case of NCP leader and former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique, with his daughter, Shahzeen Ziauddin Siddique, filing a detailed application before a special court.
In her plea, she has raised serious concerns over the investigation conducted by the Mumbai Crime Branch and sought directions for the agency to immediately secure the custody of wanted accused Anmol Bishnoi for interrogation and trial.
In her application, Shahzeen has urged the court to direct the investigating agency to bring Anmol Bishnoi before the court so that he can stand trial along with the other accused in the case. She has contended that despite being identified as the prime accused in the chargesheet, no meaningful efforts have been made by the Mumbai Crime Branch to obtain his custody.
According to the application, the chargesheet filed by the Mumbai Crime Branch identifies Anmol Bishnoi as the principal accused in Baba Siddique's murder and a key member of the Bishnoi gang. Despite this, the investigating agency has allegedly failed to take effective steps to secure his presence in India or interrogate him in connection with the case.
Shahzeen has claimed that her family independently gathered information indicating that Anmol Bishnoi was in the custody of the Department of Homeland Security in the US state of Iowa. She stated that this information was shared with the investigating officers, but the Mumbai Crime Branch allegedly did not act with the urgency required to secure his custody or initiate the necessary legal process to bring him to India.
The plea further states that while the three shooters involved in the murder were arrested shortly after the incident and the total number of arrests in the case eventually rose to 27, the family believes the investigation failed to uncover the actual motive behind the murder or expose the larger conspiracy. Shahzeen has alleged that the probe remained confined to a limited scope and overlooked several critical aspects of the case.
The application also points out that Shahzeen's brother, Zeeshan Siddique, who is a witness in the case, had named certain individuals in his statement whom the investigators should have questioned.
However, according to the petition, the Mumbai Crime Branch neither examined those individuals nor pursued further investigation based on the information provided by him. As a result, the family has expressed doubts over the impartiality and seriousness of the investigation.
According to the petition, the family also sought information regarding Anmol Bishnoi under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. However, the investigating officer declined to provide the requested details, citing confidentiality.
The family subsequently filed an appeal before the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime), but the information was again withheld. Shahzeen has alleged that the investigating agency also failed to explain what concrete steps had been taken to secure Anmol Bishnoi's custody or bring him to India.
The application further states that the US authorities later sent Anmol Bishnoi to India. Following his arrival, he remained in the custody of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with another matter and was subsequently remanded to judicial custody after the NIA completed its investigation. Shahzeen has argued that this presented the ideal opportunity for the Mumbai Crime Branch to obtain his custody and interrogate him in connection with Baba Siddique's murder, but no such action was taken.
The petition informs the court that charges have already been framed against 27 accused people and that the trial is now set to commence.
During an earlier hearing, the special court had also sought clarification from the Special Public Prosecutor regarding the steps taken to secure the presence of the wanted accused, Anmol Bishnoi. According to the application, the prosecution failed to provide a satisfactory response to the court's query.
Advocates Pradip Gharat and Trivankumar Karnani, appearing for the petitioner, stated that Shahzeen has alleged in her application that Anmol Bishnoi's interrogation could reveal the actual motive behind the murder, the larger conspiracy, and the identities of those who allegedly orchestrated the crime.
She has further alleged that this is the reason the Mumbai Crime Branch has avoided taking him into custody. However, these are allegations made by the petitioner before the court, and no judicial findings have yet been recorded on these claims.
The petition also argues that if Anmol Bishnoi is arrested in this case at a later stage, the trial may have to be conducted afresh, resulting in unnecessary delays and additional expenditure of judicial time and government resources. Therefore, the petitioner has requested that he be made a part of the ongoing proceedings without further delay.
Shahzeen Siddique has ultimately urged the special court to seek a detailed explanation from the Mumbai Crime Branch regarding the steps taken so far to secure Anmol Bishnoi's custody. If no such steps have been initiated, she has requested that the agency be directed to explain the reasons.
She has also requested that the court order the Mumbai Crime Branch to immediately take Anmol Bishnoi into custody and produce him before the court so that the trial can proceed in a fair, comprehensive and timely manner.
