Siddique murder: Mumbai court sends five accused to police custody till December 20 | Mumbai News

Mumbai, A special court in Mumbai on Tuesday remanded five accused arrested in the murder case of NCP leader Baba Siddique in police custody till December 20 after investigators said they had to make them an absconding accused and the Question weapons used in crimes. These five accused are Pravin Lonkar, brother of absconding accused Shubman Lonkar, Bhagwat Singh, Akshdeep Singh, Salman Vohra and Sumit Wagh. They were all under judicial custody in prison when the police requested their remand. Police sought custody of Pravin Lonkar from the court hearings under the Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act and said they needed to question him about the whereabouts of his absconding brother. The other accused need to be questioned about the origin and supply of weapons as well as financial aspects related to the October 12 murder in Mumbai, they told the court. Defense lawyer Siddharth Agarwal submitted that there was no new reason to seek custody of his clients. Agarwal also filed a case against Lonkar, saying he was not ready to confess under MCOCA. It should be noted that confessions made to police under the strict Anti-Organized Crime Act are admissible as evidence in court. After hearing both sides, the court remanded the five accused in police custody until December 20. The five defendants, along with 21 others arrested in the case, were charged under the strict provisions of MCOCA. The Mumbai Crime Branch, which is probing Siddique's high-profile murder, has so far arrested 26 accused, including suspected main shooter Shivkumar Gautam. All but five of the defendants are currently in judicial custody. The former Maharashtra minister was shot dead by three assailants in Bandra area more than two months ago.