The main accused in the killing of former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique has been arrested by the Mumbai Crime Branch in a joint operation with the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force, reported The Indian Express on Monday.

Siddique was shot dead allegedly by three men in Mumbai’s Bandra East area on the evening of October 12.

Shiv Kumar Gautam, alias Shiva, is allegedly one of the three men who had fired at Siddique. The other two suspected shooters, Gurmail Singh from Haryana and Dharmaraj Kashyap from Uttar Pradesh, were arrested earlier.

The police claimed that Gautam was in contact with Anmol Bishnoi, the younger brother of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi.

Lawrence Bishnoi, a gangster from Punjab, is lodged in Ahmedabad’s Sabarmati Central Jail. He has been linked to multiple crimes, including the Canadian government’s allegations that agents of the Indian government were working with his gang to plan and execute violence in North America.

The Mumbai Police also suspect his involvement in the killing of Siddique “to create fear and use it for extortion activities”, according to The Indian Express.

Along with Gautam, the police also arrested Anurag Kashyap and Gyan Prakash Tripathi.

Anurag Kashyap is the brother of Dharmaraj Kashyap. Gyan Prakash Tripathi allegedly sent Rs 1.5 lakh to another accused in the case.

“The other accused helped him [Gautam] stay under the radar and were planning to cross over to Nepal [with him],” said Deputy Commissioner of Police Datta Nalawade, reported The Indian Express.

With this, a total of 21 people have been arrested in the case.

On October 23, PTI reported that the Mumbai Police arrested 29-year-old Amit Hisamsing Kumar, who they claim is suspected to be an important link between the shooter and the alleged mastermind behind the plot, Mohammed Zeeshan Akhtar.

According to police officials, Kumar was suspected to be involved in planning and executing the murder. Certain financial dealings between him and others accused in the killing were also under investigation, the officers added.