A 23-year-old man, who was allegedly part of the conspiracy to kill NCP leader Baba Siddique, was on Wednesday arrested from Pune, police said, making him the 16th accused to be held in connection with the high-profile murder.

Gaurav Vilas Apune, a resident of Karvenagar in Pune city, is an important catch in the case as he was in direct contact with wanted accused Shubham Lonkar and arrested accused Ram Kanoujia, an official said.

Apune, the 16th person to be arrested in the case, was part of the conspiracy to kill the former Maharashtra minister in Mumbai last month, he said.

He was produced before a local court which sent him to police remand till November 13.

A team of the Mumbai crime branch, probing the case, detained Apune after questioning of some of the arrested accused revealed he was involved in the conspiracy to attack Siddique, the official said.

During interrogation, it came to light that he was assured of Rs 25 lakh, a flat, and a vehicle for killing the NCP leader, he said.

Apune had been trained in the use of firearms by some of the absconding accused. He had also fired bullets as a part of weapons training, according to the official.

The 23-year-old had a firearm and bullets with him, which he gave to one of the wanted accused. A search was on for the weapon which was in his possession, he said.

Siddique (66) was shot dead by three gunmen in Mumbai's Bandra area on October 12.

Jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi's younger brother Anmol, believed to be living in Canada and making regular travels to the US, was allegedly behind the murder, but a motive was still not clear, police have said.

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