New Delhi: Sukhdev Singh Gogamedi, the president of a Karni Sena breakaway faction, was shot dead at his Jaipur residence Tuesday.
Gogamedi, who headed the Rashtriya Rajput Karni Sena, is believed to have been attacked by three assailants.
Gogamedi was at his residence when three people took permission to enter his house and opened fire, Jaipur Police Commissioner Biju George Joseph told ThePrint. One of the assailants was allegedly killed in retaliatory firing by Gogamedi’s personal security personnel.
“The incident occurred around 1 pm Tuesday when three assailants entered Gogamedi’s residence,” Joseph added. “He was rushed to a private hospital where he was declared dead on arrival.”
The commissioner said it was unclear yet if “the assailants were known to Gogamedi but they entered the house after his consent”.
Two associates of Gogamedi injured in the attack are believed to be “critical” and receiving treatment in a private hospital.
The Karni Sena is an organisation that represents the Rajputs. It has often been in the news for violent protests against movies depicting Rajasthan’s history.
In the headlines
Gogamedi burst onto the scene with massive rounds of protests against the encounter of alleged gangster Anand Pal Singh by the Special Operations Group of the Rajasthan Police in 2017. Singh’s family had claimed the encounter was staged and he had been willing to surrender.
Gogamedi was booked by Rajasthan Police and the CBI, for unlawful assembly and other charges, following violence at protests in the Sanwarad area of Nagaur district.
He was chargesheeted by the CBI in the case in 2020.
The same year, Gogamedi was back in headlines as he led violent protests against the Bollywood movie Padmaavat, which was then named Padmavati.
The Karni Sena, led by Gogamedi, had launched statewide protests against director Sanjay Leela Bhansali and actors Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone, alleging that they were portraying Rani Padmini, a Chittor queen believed to have lived during the 14th century, in a bad light.
Despite multiple clarifications by the producers, the Karni Sena continued to vandalise the sets of the movie, and burnt its posters, calling for a mass boycott.
After the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) decided to give its nod for the movie’s release with some changes, Gogamedi threatened vandalism against all theatres that run the movie.
“The release of ‘Padmavati’ is going to create chaos in the country. The government will be responsible for loss of life and property following the release of this movie. Every theatre where this movie is released will be vandalised,” he was quoted as saying to news agency ANI.
The movie was finally released with the new name.
(Edited by Sunanda Ranjan)