Mumbai police revealed that gangster Lawrence Bishnoi’s gang planned to attack comedian Munawar Faruqui and Shraddha Walker murder accused Aftab Poonawala.

MUMBAI: NCP neta Baba Siddique‘s murder accused Shivkumar Gautam alias Shiva has told police that standup comedian Munawar Faruqui and Shraddha Walker’s killer boyfriend Aftab Poonawala were among targets of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi.
In Sept, the group planning the attack on Faruqui had checked into a Delhi hotel where the comedian was put up as he was to perform in the capital. The gang was furious over his remarks on Hindu deities. However, with the timely action of the intelligence agencies, the attack was foiled. In Oct, Mumbai police enhanced Faruqui’s security in view of the threat from the Bishnoi gang.
“Gautam said wanted accused Shubham Lonkar used to speak on communal lines and told him they had plans to target Faruqui as well as Poonawala. We have alerted Delhi police regarding Poonawala,” a police officer said. Poonawala has allegedly admitted to stra-ngling his live-in partner Walkar to death on May 18, 2002, in their rented flat in south Delhi, chopping her body into pieces, storing them in the fridge and disposing them over a period in forest areas across Delhi. He was arrested on Nov 12, 2022.
Meanwhile, following reports that the arrested accused Gaurav Apune, Rupesh Mohol, as well as Gautam and Lonkar, had visited a Naxal-affected region of Jharkhand and met a key member, Mumbai police have intimated the National Investigation Agency, which is likely to take over the investigation or register a fresh case.
When asked about the motive for killing Siddique, Gautam said Lonkar had told him that the neta had a nexus with the Dawood gang and was friends with actor Salman Khan.