Baba Siddique murder case: Punjab man granted bail

The Bombay High Court on Monday granted bail to a man from Punjab who is accused in the murder of former Maharashtra minister and Nationalist Congress Party leader Baba Siddique.

On October 12, 2024, Siddique was shot dead allegedly by three men in Mumbai’s Bandra East area.

On Monday, a single-judge bench of Justice Neela Gokhale found no prima facie evidence linking 22-year-old Akashdeep Karaj Singh to the murder of the alleged crime syndicate, led by Anmol Bishnoi, that is named in the chargesheet.

Singh, who hails from a village in Punjab’s Fazilka district, was arrested in November 2024 and is the first suspect to secure bail in the case, the Hindustan Times reported.

Gokhale noted that while the acts allegedly committed by the crime syndicate led by Anmol Bishnoi were serious offences and the provisions of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act were invoked correctly, there was insufficient material to show Singh’s involvement at this stage, Bar and Bench reported.

“I am unable to form an opinion that there are reasonable grounds, at this stage, for believing that the accusations against [Singh]...under the [organised crime act] are prima facie true,” the court held.

The prosecution had argued that Singh was an active member of the syndicate, citing alleged calls to co-accused Sujit Singh, unspecified international calls, a...

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