National: Shivkumar Gautam, the main shooter of NCP leader Baba Siddique during interrogation has made big revelations. Four close friends, whose late-night conversations on social media apps raised suspicions, have played a pivotal role in helping Mumbai Police track down Shivkumar Gautam, the main shooter of NCP leader Baba Siddique, in Uttar Pradesh, officials said on Monday. The Mumbai Crime Branch and the Uttar Pradesh Police Special Task Force (STF) arrested Gautam along with Anurag Kashyap, Gyan Prakash Tripathi, Akash Srivastava and Akhilendra Pratap Singh on Sunday in Uttar Pradesh's Nanpara area, near the Nepal border.

According to police, committing the murder, the accused Shivkumar remained around Bandra for a long time. 

According to police, Shivkumar Gautam has studied only till class 7.

The accused has said that before committing the murder, they used to keep an eye on Baba Siddique and Zeeshan Siddiqui at different places from their office to their house. This recee continued for about a month.  

The police also worked hard to arrest the accused and traced the phones of about 45 people among his contacts and gradually brought this number down to 10 when the accused tried to contact his family in Bahraich from some other number. Then the police found the link of the accused. The four men had been in constant touch with Gautam through internet calls on mobile phones, purchased in Lucknow. Their communication, especially during late hours, had caught the attention of authorities, leading to increased surveillance.

Gautam, who allegedly shot Siddique at close range on October 12 night in Mumbai's Bandra area, initially travelled from the crime scene to Kurla. He boarded a local train to Thane. He dumped his bag and mobile phone during the journey, the officials added. He travelled onward to Pune. After reaching Pune at around 3:30 AM on October 13, he boarded a train to Lucknow. During his journey, he made several calls to his handlers using the mobile phones of passengers, officials said.