MUMBAI, Aug. 13 -- The investigating officer in the Baba Siddique murder case on Wednesday denied disobeying the MCOCA court's directions to secure the custody of accused gangster Anmol Bishnoi. He argued that a central government order restricting Bishnoi's removal from Tihar Jail prevented his physical custody and that video-conferencing suggested by the court could not legally substitute his first physical presence in court. Assistant commissioner of police Subhash Dhudhgaonkar was responding to a show-cause notice issued by Special Judge Satyanarayan Navander on August 5, after the court found that his conduct prima facie reflected deliberate disregard of its July 10 directions to make efforts to secure Bishnoi's custody. The issue arose from an application filed by Baba Siddique's widow, Shehzeen Zaiuddin Siddique, through advocates Trivankumar Karnani and Pradip Gharat, seeking directions to secure Bishnoi's custody. Bishnoi, an absconding accused in the case, is lodged in Tihar Jail in connection with an NIA case. The prosecution had maintained that his physical custody was necessary but could not be obtained because of a December 5, 2025, order passed by the central government, prohibiting his removal from Tihar Jail for one year or until the conclusion of a Delhi case, whichever was earlier. The court, however, said the order did not prevent the police from taking further steps. The MCOCA court criticised Dhudhgaonkar's compliance report, saying it was "conspicuously silent" about any attempt to secure Bishnoi through video-conferencing or another legally permissible mode indicated in the July 10 order....