The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has canceled all scheduled events for Sunday in response to the assassination of party leader and former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the NCP announced, “Keeping in view the tragic death of our party colleague Baba Siddique, all party programs for 13th October, i.e. Sunday stand cancelled.”
Baba Siddique, a prominent figure in Ajit Pawar’s faction of the NCP, was shot dead on Saturday evening near Nirmal Nagar in Bandra East. Despite being rushed to Lilavati Hospital, he succumbed to his injuries later that night.
On Sunday morning, Mumbai Police transferred Siddique’s body from Lilavati Hospital to Cooper Hospital, where a post-mortem will be conducted. Throughout the night, numerous politicians and celebrities gathered at Lilavati to pay their respects to the three-time MLA from Bandra West.
Siddique, who had joined Ajit Pawar’s NCP earlier this year after leaving the Congress, was shot by unidentified assailants. Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde called the incident “extremely unfortunate” and confirmed that two suspects, from Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, have been arrested. A third suspect is still at large, and Mumbai Police have vowed to take strong action to bring the perpetrators to justice.
According to authorities, Siddique sustained two gunshot wounds to his chest during the attack. Mumbai’s Additional CP Paramjit Singh Dahiya stated that the Crime Branch is leading the investigation, and the weapon used in the crime—a 9.9mm pistol—has been recovered.
The murder of Baba Siddique has sent shockwaves through Maharashtra’s political scene, with leaders and citizens mourning the loss of a dedicated public servant.
