MUMBAI: Standup comedian Munawar Faruqui and Aftab Poonawala, who is facing trial for the gruesome murder of his Palghar-based girlfriend Shraddha Walkar in Delhi in 2022, were on the hit list of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, the architect of the murder of former state minister and NCP leader Baba Siddique, police said. This revelation came out during the interrogation of Shivkumar Gautam alias Shiva, the main shooter in the Siddique murder case.
Gautam told police that wanted accused Shubham Lonkar expressed concern for the delay in eliminating Siddique. “Lonkar told Gautam that another module that he had assigned to target Faruqui may meet with success before them. This prompted Gautam and the other two shooters, Gurnail Singh and Dharamraj Kashyap, to expedite their task on Dusshera ,” said a police officer.
In Sept, the group planning the attack on Faruqui had checked into a Delhi hotel where the comedian was put up as he was to perform in the Capital. The gang was furious over his remarks on Hindu deities. However, with the timely action of the intelligence agencies, the attack was foiled. In Oct, Mumbai police enhanced Faruqui’s security in view of the threat from the Bishnoi gang.
Meanwhile, following reports that the arrested accused Gaurav Apune, Rupesh Mohol, as well as Gautam and Lonkar had visited a naxal-affected region of Jharkhand and met a key member, Mumbai police have intimated National Investigation Agency, which is likely to take over the investigation or register a fresh case.