The supporters of prominent Rajput leader Sukhdev Singh Gogamedi have called a Rajasthan bandh on Wednesday, a day after a large number of men from the community gathered outside the private hospital and refused to take away the body.
The men, assembled outside the hospital in Jaipur’s Mansarovar area where Gogamedi’s body was kept, blocked the Shipra Path road, and insisted on arrest of the assailants, and announced that a city-wide bandh (shutdown).
A report in Times of India quoted Ram Singh Chandlai, president of Rajput Sabha Bhavan, as saying: “In light of this brutal killing, a city-wide bandh will be enforced. The government should also provide a compensation package to the family. A decision over what this compensation package should be will be made on Wednesday in a meeting at Sabha Bhavan.”
TOI stated that the police had not clamped Section 144 anywhere when they filed the report, however, private institutions have decided to not take the risk.
As news of Gogamedi’s killing spread, various areas in the city, including Jhotwara, Khatipura and many others, saw a shutdown, with enraged people taking to the streets and chanting slogans against the administration, the publication mentioned.
Residents claimed that the city was becoming increasingly unsafe. Mohan Singh, a resident of the same locality as Gogamedi, was quoted as saying, “It is alarming that someone can be shot dead in their house in an upscale locality. The assailants fled on foot and forcibly took a vehicle at gunpoint. Stringent measures must be taken to discourage such incidents.”
Reportedly, several community leaders, including Pratap Singh and senior BJP leader Rajendra Singh Rathore, arrived at the hospital to participate in the protest.
The report further stated that fear gripped the Shyam Nagar area after the shootout. A posse of policemen and relatives gathered outside the house, but many neighbours locked themselves inside their homes, it mentioned.
Protests were also held in Churu, Udaipur, Alwar and Jodhpur districts. Pali district was shut on Wednesday. Karni Sena workers were getting shops closed. Heavy police has been deployed in Pali as trade body has supported the ‘bandh’.
THE SENSATIONAL MURDER OF SUKHDEV SINGH GOGAMEDI
Gogamedi, the president of right-wing group Shri Rashtriya Rajput Karni Sena, was shot dead in the living room of his house here on Tuesday by three men.
Rohit Godara, a gangster closely associated with the gangs of Goldie Brar and Lawrence Bishnoi, has taken responsibility for the murder in a Facebook post. Police said that searches have been launched to trace the two assailants who managed to flee.
“The Rohit Godara gang has taken responsibility for the murder. All possible hideouts of the attackers are being raided in the neighbouring districts and the Bikaner division,” DGP Umesh Mishra said, adding that Rajasthan Police has also sought the cooperation of its Haryana counterparts.
One of the assailants was also gunned down by his accomplices, police said. Earlier, Jaipur Police Commissioner Biju George Joseph had said the assailant was killed in retaliatory firing by Gogamedi’s security guards.
One of Gogamedi’s security guards sustained bullet injuries in the exchange of fire with the assailants, who had gone to his house in the Shyam Nagar area on the pretext of meeting him, police said.
According to officials, Governor Kalraj Mishra has sought a report from the DGP on the incident, which was caught on CCTV and triggered protests by Gogamedi’s supporters.
In the CCTV footage, the attackers are seen whipping out their weapons and firing indiscriminately at Gogamedi, who is sitting on a couch opposite them and eventually falls down. Before fleeing, one of the assailants shoots a motionless Gogamedi lying on the floor from a close range.
Gogamedi formed Shri Rashtriya Rajput Karni Sena after he was expelled from Sri Rajput Karni Sena in 2015 over differences with its founder Lokendra Singh Kalvi.
Both these outfits had protested against Deepika Padukone starrer “Padmaavat” in 2018 over alleged distortion of historical facts about the Rajput community.
“The attackers entered Gogamedi’s house on the pretext that they wanted to talk to him. After talking to him for some time, they opened fire at him. One of Gogamedi’s security guards retaliated and was injured in the firing. During the incident, two attackers shot their accomplice Naveen Shekhawat,” DGP Mishra said.
