Uttar Pradesh native Dharmaraj Rajesh Kashyap, who is among one of the shooters arrested for killing NCP leader Baba Siddique in Mumbai, had scored 78% in his class 10 board exams, and was prompted to pursue a career in medicine by his family.

Anurag, the shooter’s elder brother, told The Times of India that after that his brother succumbed to the allure of social media, where he saw gangsters bragging about money and influence.

“Dharmaraj is now frightened. He succumbed to the allure of social media (where gangsters bragged about their exploits) and ventured down a misguided path in pursuit of monetary gain and influence,” Anurag told the newspaper.

“Gangsters like Lawrence Bishnoi became his idols. I reproach myself for not being able to look after my younger brother,” he added.

According to The Times of India report, Dharmaraj failed to appear for his 12th class board exam, following which he left for Pune with Shivkumar Gautam – the prime suspect in Siddique’s murder case and is currently absconding.

“Shivkumar is younger than Dharmaraj but appears more mature. He is a class five dropout. Neither exhibited any violent behaviour while they were in the village,” Anurag told the newspaper.

Baba Siddique murder case

Baba Siddique (66), a former Congress leader who had joined the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party earlier this year, was shot dead by three persons in Mumbai’s Nirmal Nagar area on October 12. The shooting took place outside his MLA son Zeeshan Siddique’s office.

The police have so far arrested 10 persons in connection with the shooting, including the two alleged shooters Gurmail Singh, a Haryana native, and Dharmaraj Kashyap.

Crime branch teams have intensified their search for the absconding accused, particularly Shivkumar Gautam, who is said to be the main shooter.