Shootout At Bandra: Making Sense Of Baba Siddique's Murder

The last time D Company fired a bullet in Mumbai was in November 2002. The Arun Gawli gang murdered someone for the last time in 2008. The Chhota Rajan gang's last big hit was on journalist J. Dey in June 2011. Ashwin Naik has quit the underworld and become a builder. Abu Salem's gang was decimated after his arrest in Lisbon in 2002. With most gang leaders behind bars and their foot soldiers killed, there has been a lull in Mumbai for over a decade. It seems that North Indian gangs, like the one led by Lawrence Bishnoi, are trying to capitalise on this vacuum. The murder of Baba Siddique seems to be a manifestation of this emerging trend.

After Baba Siddique's murder on Sunday, there are fears that Mumbai may be reverting to the dreaded days of the 1990s, when bloodshed on the streets was rampant. Gangsters not only killed their rivals but also targeted bar owners, builders, film producers, and various businessmen who refused to pay extortion money. Over a hundred people were killed every year in that decade. The lawlessness in India’s financial capital made national headlines when audacious gangsters killed a businessman right outside the police commissioner's office.

The police adopted strict measures to combat the mafia’s reign of terror, including the controversial policy of encounters. Around 500 gangsters were killed by police bullets in the latter half of the 90s, and thousands were arrested under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act. This led to the collapse of the Mumbai underworld by the time the 21st century completed its first decade.

Dawood Ibrahim wound up his gang’s operations in India after his younger brother Iqbal was deported from Dubai in 2003. Arun Gawli, Chhota Rajan, and Abu Salem are serving life sentences in different murder cases. Even small-time gangsters like Ravi Pujari and Bunty Pandey are behind bars.

Initial investigations into the Baba Siddique murder case suggest that Lawrence Bishnoi's gang could be behind the killing. Although it is yet to be conclusively established that the incarcerated gangster ordered the hit, it is a known fact that film actor Salman Khan was on his hit list. Bishnoi's gang had made two unsuccessful attempts to eliminate him. When they couldn’t succeed in killing Khan, they fired at his residence in Bandra to intimidate him. Bishnoi seems to have followed the old underworld formula that if you can't kill your enemy, kill his acquaintances or destroy his support system. Baba Siddique was not just Khan's friend but also a part of his support system, standing by him through tough times like the hit-and-run case and the blackbuck hunting case. It could be surmised that Bishnoi targeted Siddique to intimidate Khan.

Baba Siddique was also involved in real estate, and like many others in the industry, he had a few enemies. The police are also investigating the possibility of business rivalry being a motive.

A few hours after Siddique was shot dead, someone posted on social media claiming responsibility for the attack. The post warned others who were friendly with Salman Khan that they could meet the same fate as Siddique. It ended with the words "Jai Shri Ram" and "Jai Bharat." Such slogans suggest that Bishnoi wants to be seen as a Hindu don, not just an avenger of the Bishnoi community. This mirrors strategies used by Mumbai underworld mafias. The Chhota Rajan gang, by killing those accused of the Mumbai serial bombings, and Ravi Pujari, by threatening defence lawyers in terror cases and left-leaning celebrities like Mahesh Bhatt, sought to project themselves as nationalist gangsters, not just money-driven criminals.

Similarly, Dawood Ibrahim tried to garner support from the Muslim community by orchestrating the Mumbai serial blasts, which were touted as revenge for the killings of Muslims during the Mumbai riots. The gang also attacked Shiv Sainiks who were inducted by the BN Srikrishna Commission for participating in the riots.

So far, the Lawrence Bishnoi gang has been involved in just two incidents in Mumbai. If more such incidents continue and Bishnoi tries to profit from terror by making extortion calls to the rich and wealthy in Mumbai, then the Mumbai Police will need to brace for another war against the underworld. This time, the challenge will be different, as unlike the gangsters of the 90s, the members of Bishnoi’s gang hail from various North Indian states, are new to the crime world, or have little criminal background. Most of the officers who fought the underworld in the 90s have retired. The new breed of Mumbai cops lacks the experience and expertise to deal with organised crime syndicates, and it will be difficult to develop a network of informers, as the gangsters are from outside the state.

Jitendra Dixit is Contributing Editor of NDTV and author of the book Bombay After Ayodhya.

The views expressed here are those of the author, and do not necessarily represent the views of NDTV Profit or its editorial team.