Mumbai police deploys MCOCA in high-profile Baba Siddique murder case: Here’s what you need to know

The Mumbai Police has invoked the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime (MCOC) Act in NCP politician Baba Siddique murder case, officials said on Saturday.

The crime branch has so far arrested 26 persons, including the alleged main shooter Shiv Kumar Gautam, in the case.

What is MCOCA?

MCOCA stands for the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act, which was enacted in 1999 to combat organized crime and terrorism in the state of Maharashtra. The law was introduced by a coalition government of the Bharatiya Janata Party and Shiv Sena.

Provisions of stringent MCOCA are invoked in the Baba Siddique murder case, a Mumbai Police official said without elaborating.

It is important to note that confessions made to the police under MCOCA are admissible as evidence in court. It is also difficult to secure bail under the MCOCA.

-The Act gives the state government special powers to tackle organized crime, including:

-Relaxed evidentiary standards and procedural safeguards

-The power to prescribe additional criminal penalties, including the death penalty

Baba Siddique Murder Case

Former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique, 66, was shot dead on October 12 by three assailants outside his son MLA Zeeshan Siddique’s office building in Bandra East, Mumbai.

Baba Siddique sustained two bullet injuries on his chest and was rushed to the Lilavati hospital in Mumbai, where he passed away.

Jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi’s brother Anmol was arrested in the US for his alleged role in the murder of Baba Siddique and firing outside actor Salman Khan’s Mumbai home.

Mumbai Police investigation into the Baba Siddiqui murder case had revealed that prime suspect Akashdeep Gill, arrested in Punjab, used a labourer’s mobile hotspot to communicate with key conspirators, including mastermind Anmol Bishnoi.

According to the information received from a senior officer of the Mumbai Crime Branch, the investigation of the Mumbai Crime Branch has revealed that after the murder of Baba Siddiqui, a big leader of Pune was also on the radar of the Bishnoi gang.

Suspected key conspirators Shubham Lonkar and Zishan Mohammad Akhtar are still on the run.