Shiv Kumar Gautam, the primary suspect in the murder of former minister and NCP leader Baba Siddique, disclosed to police that after the shooting, he waited outside Mumbai’s Lilavati Hospital to confirm if Siddique had survived. Gautam, who changed his shirt immediately after the shooting, stood among the crowd outside the hospital for 30 minutes and left once he learned Siddique’s condition was critical.

Siddique, aged 66, was shot on October 12 in Bandra around 9:11 pm. He suffered two gunshot wounds to the chest and was rushed to Lilavati Hospital, where he later died.

As per Gautam, the initial plan involved him meeting associates Dharmaraj Kashyap and Gurmail Singh at Ujjain railway station, where a Bishnoi gang member was set to escort them to Vaishno Devi. This plan fell through when Kashyap and Singh were detained by police.

How Gautam Was Tracked Down
Gautam’s arrest on Sunday was facilitated by four friends whose suspicious activities raised police concerns. These individuals had been in contact with Gautam via internet calls, coordinating through phones purchased in Lucknow. Police learned that they planned to help Gautam escape the country and tracked them buying clothing in multiple sizes before arranging to meet him in a remote forest.

Following the shooting, Gautam traveled from the crime scene to Kurla, boarded a local train to Thane, and then fled to Pune, where he abandoned his phone. After staying in Pune for about a week, he moved to Jhansi and Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh.

On Sunday, Mumbai Crime Branch and Uttar Pradesh Police STF arrested Gautam and his associates near the Nepal border. Gautam was found hiding in a small hamlet around 10 km from Nanpara, a town in Uttar Pradesh.