Mumbai: Baba Siddique, a well-known Muslim leader and political figure, was fatally shot by unknown assailants in Maharashtra’s capital city, marking a significant escalation of violence in the region.

According to Kashmir Media Service, the attack occurred outside his son’s office located in Kher Nagar, Mumbai. Three gunmen are reported to have carried out the assassination. Siddique, aged 65, had recently made headlines for his departure from the Congress party and the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance to join the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), aligning himself with the ruling Maha Yuti coalition.

The incident has sent shockwaves through the local community, especially given Siddique’s prominent role in state politics and his son, Zeeshan Siddique’s, current position as an MLA for Vandre East. Further details about the motives or the perpetrators behind the killing have not yet been disclosed.

In a related incident, a former Congress MLA, Sanjay Talwar, also faced an attack when gunmen fired at his car outside his residence in Janpath Enclave, South City, Ludhiana, Punjab. This sequence of events underscores a troubling increase in targeted violence against political figures in India.