Indian ex-minister Baba Siddique shot dead in Mumbai

Baba Siddique, a former minister of India's Maharashtra state, has died after being shot at in Mumbai's Bandra area, NDTV reports.

The politician was a member of the Ajit Pawar faction of the NCP party. Sources said the shooters fired six bullets around 9:30 pm on Saturday near the office of Siddique's son Zeeshan, who is the MLA from Bandra East. Two people have been arrested.

Baba Siddique was rushed to the Lilavati Hospital after the incident. Sources said four bullets hit the 66-year-old NCP leader and one of his aides also suffered a gunshot wound. 

The firing came months ahead of the Maharashtra Assembly elections, which are expected to be held later this year. 

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said he had spoken to police and doctors at the hospital. "The incident is extremely unfortunate. There are reports that he ( Siddique) has died. Two people have been arrested, one from Uttar Pradesh and one from Haryana, while another is on the run. I have asked the police to take strict action and ensure no one takes law and order into their hands. A gang-war-like situation should not be allowed to resurface in Mumbai," he said in Marathi. 

Expressing grief at the death of Siddique, leaders of opposition parties also raised questions about law and order in Mumbai, asking how a politician who had Y-level security could be killed in public in an upscale area like Bandra. 

NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) President Sharad Pawar said people in the government should take responsibility and step down from their posts.

Siddique, who was a three-time MLA from Bandra West, was associated with the Congress for 48 years and had quit the party in February and joined Ajit Pawar's NCP. Zeeshan Siddique was expelled from the Congress in August. 

The former MLA was elected as an MLA from the Bandra West constituency in 1999, 2004 and 2009 and served as a minister of state for food and civil supplies, labour and FDA between 2004 and 2008. He was known not just for his political acumen but also for hosting lavish parties. A cold war between superstars Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan was resolved at an 'iftar' party hosted by Siddique in 2013.