The High Court on Tuesday took cognizance of the petition filed by the wife of former minister Baba Siddiqui, seeking a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the murder case of former minister Baba Siddiqui. The court also ordered the investigating officers, including the Joint Commissioner of the Criminal Investigation Department, to clarify their position on this petition.
Shahzeen's petition was heard on Tuesday before a bench of Justice Ajay Gadkari and Justice Ranjit Singh Bhosale. At that time, the court issued the above order to the investigating officer Kishore Kumar Shinde and the Joint Commissioner of Police.
However, senior advocate Pradeep Gharat, on behalf of Shahzeen, brought to the court's attention that despite repeated requests, the statement of Siddiqui's son Zeeshan has not yet been recorded. The police claimed to be in touch with Zeeshan. On this, the bench raised questions and ordered the police to submit a progress report on the investigation of the case.
According to the police, Zeeshan's statement was recorded. However, the petitioner has refuted it. Therefore, the court, while rejecting the verbal assurance of the police, also noted that the status of the conflicting claims would be clarified through the police investigation records.
WhatsApp messages and call logs showing that the police were in contact with Zeeshan were presented in the court by Special Public Prosecutor Mahesh Mulye. We do not know whether Zeeshan is in contact or not, this is an investigation related to a murder case. The court told the police to produce legally admissible evidence, and reiterated the above order.
Take Zeeshan’s threat seriously
It was informed to the court that Baba Siddique and Zeeshan had repeatedly expressed concerns about their security and requested the reinstatement of police protection several weeks before the murder. In response, public prosecutor Mankunwar Deshmukh told the court that necessary instructions regarding Zeeshan’s security would be taken. Taking note of this, the court directed the police to be made aware of the matter and to take appropriate measures.
Also Read: Mumbai: HC refuses to hear petition alleging that Rohit Arya's encounter was fake