New Delhi: Of the two assailants who opened fire at Rashtriya Rajput Karni Sena chief Sukhdev Singh Gogamedi, one is a serving soldier and the other an accused in a POCSO case, ThePrint has learnt.
Sources in Rajasthan Police also told ThePrint that the two shooters entered Gogamedi’s residence in Jaipur with the help of his “acquaintance” Naveen Shekhawat.
“Naveen Shekhawat was Gogamedi’s acquaintance and used to visit him frequently. It was he who facilitated the entry for the other two assailants and was eventually killed simultaneously with Gogamedi at his residence. His phone has been sent for analysis,” a senior police officer told ThePrint on condition of anonymity.
Shekhawat, who ran a clothing business and was also involved in property dealings, had apparently arranged a meeting between Gogamedi and the two men, who claimed they needed Rashtriya Rajput Karni Sena chief’s assistance.
The officer added that Shekhawat may not have been aware of the shooter’s intentions and hence was caught off guard. He added that the killers used multiple vehicles to escape and even stole a motorcycle after shooting at it’s owner.
Gogamedi was shot at his home in Shyam Nagar area of Jaipur Tuesday. A preliminary probe, said police sources, suggests that the killers fired nine bullets at him.
Giving details about the killers, another police officer privy to the probe told ThePrint that one of shooters, is Nitin ‘fauji’, a “serving army personnel” from the Mahendragarh district of Haryana, and the other is Rohit Rathore, a resident of Jaipur.
Police sources in Haryana said Rathore has three cases against him, including one under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and another under the Arms Act.
Nitin was booked in one case in which he and five others were accused of firing at a team of police personnel that went to arrest them on 9 November last year, they added. While four of the accused have been arrested, Nitin and one of the accused are still on the run.
One police officer from Mahendragarh said Nitin was posted with the Jat Regiment in Alwar district of Rajasthan and had gone on leave a few days before the Mahendragarh incident.
Also Read: Young criminals, baahubalis, arms dealers — Lawrence Bishnoi gang has dug its claws deep in UP
‘Yet to establish Bishnoi’s hand’
Senior officers of the Rajasthan police said Rohit Godara, a gangster with ties to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, has claimed responsibility for Gogamedi’s killing on Facebook, but his role can only be confirmed after the killers are caught.
However, Godara might have a personal grudge against Gogamedi, as reported by ThePrint earlier. Gogamedi supported Rajputs who received extortion calls from Godara and his associates, which could have led to a bitter rivalry, said police sources.
But, whether he “orchestrated” his killing Tuesday needs to be established beyond the “point of reasonable doubt”, which will happen only after assailants are arrested, said one of the police officers quoted earlier.
“Gang members claiming responsibility for a high-profile killing is not abnormal, and Godara’s post on Facebook seems to be legitimate. But whether he truly orchestrated the killing needs to be corroborated during the interrogation of the accused. Linking the killing directly to Bishnoi will be premature and mere speculation,” the officer added.
DGP, Gehlot named in FIR
In a related development, Rajasthan police registered an FIR on the complaint of Shila Shekhawat, the wife of Gogamedi, in which she has named the outgoing chief minister Ashok Gehlot and the Director General of Police (DGP) Umesh Mishra as the accused.
In the FIR filed Wednesday at Shyam Nagar Police station in Jaipur, a copy of which is with ThePrint, the police have invoked IPC sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 341 (Punishment for wrongful restraint), 452 (trespass to house with the motive to hurt someone), 307 (Attempt to murder), 302 (murder), 34 (deals with joint criminal liability), 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 427 (mischief).
Sections 16 (deals with punishment for terrorist acts), 18 (conspiring or attempting to commit a terrorist act) and 20 (punishment for being member of terrorist gang or organisation) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act have also been invoked in the FIR, besides sections 3 (in possession of arms without licence), 25 (1-AA) (punishment for manufacturing, selling, repairing, and possessing prohibited arms) and 27 (Punishment for using arms) of the Arms Act.
In her complaint, Shekhawat alleged that Gogamedi had faced threats to his life for the last couple of years due to his “national/international social work” and had written three letters to Gehlot, DGP Mishra and other senior police officers of the state on 24 February, 1 March and 25 March this year, seeking police cover.
She also alleged that information conveyed by Punjab Police to Rajasthan Police about a possible threat to Gogamedi’s life from Sampat Nehra, an associate of Rohit Godara and Lawrence (Bishnoi), was ignored.
(Edited by Richa Mishra)
Also Read: Sand miners are the new narcos. Rajasthan gangs offer cash, career, swag