Two more persons were arrested on Thursday in the case related to the murder of NCP leader Baba Siddique, a police official said.

So far, 18 persons have been arrested in the case.

Aditya Gulankar (22) and Rafique Niyaz Shaikh (22), both residents of Karvenagar area of Pune city were taken in custody as they were in contact with Pravin Lonkar, one of the alleged conspirators, and another accused Rupesh Mohol, the official said.

Lonkar and Mohol, both already arrested, allegedly handed over a 9 mm pistol with ammunition to Gulankar and Shaikh, he said, adding that they were to be used in the crime.

The pistol was recovered during the probe while efforts were on to trace the ammunition.

Siddique (66), a former Maharashtra minister, 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, was allegedly behind the murder, but the motive was not clear, police have said.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.