Karni Sena chief's murder: How shooters evaded police before being nabbed
The accused — Rohit Rathore, 24, from Makrana, and Nitin Fauji, 26, from Haryana’s Mahendragarh — were nabbed from a liquor shop in Chandigarh.
Two shooters allegedly involved in the killing of Sukhdev Singh Gogamedi, chief of Hindu right-wing group Shri Rashtriya Rajput Karni Sena (SRRKS), in Jaipur last week were arrested in Chandigarh late on Saturday, hours after one of their close associates was nabbed in Haryana, police officers aware of the developments said on Sunday.
Also Read: Karni Sena president Sukhdev Singh Gogamedi shot dead in Jaipur, chilling murder caught on CCTV
The accused — Rohit Rathore, 24, from Makrana, and Nitin Fauji, 26, from Haryana’s Mahendragarh — were nabbed from a liquor shop in Chandigarh’s sector 22 during a joint operation carried out by a special investigation team (SIT) of Rajasthan Police and crime branch of Delhi Police. A third person who helped them evade police, Uddham Singh, 23, was also arrested
Ravindra Singh Yadav, the special commissioner of police (crime), Delhi Police, said the team was tracking them via their social media and mobile phone usage.
“Fauji and Rathore were the shooters, who shot at least 27 times on Sena chief, while Singh — one of Fauji’s old friends — arranged the vehicle from them in Hisar and accompanied them to Manali in their escape. Fauji and Rathore had entered Gogamedi’s home on the pretext of meeting him and, after talking for a few minutes, they opened fire at Gogamedi. They also shot dead their accomplice Naveen Shekhawat, through whom they had secured access to the Karni Sena chief’s residence,” he said.
The Capital’s police began tracking the men after Rajasthan police on Tuesday, hours after the murder, sent them an alert that the men were headed towards Delhi from Diwana in Rajasthan roadways bus. “But when our boys could not find the duo in the said bus, they asked the bus staff about them. When the bus staff informed that Fauji and Rathore had de-boarded the bus at Dharuhera, we launched our manual and technical surveillance there. It was found that they had taken an auto from there to Rewari. As per technical inputs, they were found to have taken a train from Rewari at 5am on Wednesday and de-boarded at Hisar three hours later,” he said.
Yadav also said when the police reviewed social networking profiles of Fauji and Rathore, they found that Fauji had contacted an old friend in Hisar — Uddham Singh. “When the police raided Singh’s house on Friday, his family members informed that he had gone to Manali with some of his friends on Thursday. We alerted our team stationed in Himachal Pradesh immediately, but the trio were found to have left by that time. The police were keeping a round-the-clock surveillance on the phone numbers, linked to them, which gave us a vital link about their movement towards Chandigarh. Finally based on technical and manual tracking, our team — led by crime branch DCP Amit Goel — caught them from a place in sector 22 in Chandigarh on Saturday evening,” he said.
Rajasthan Police officials said Rathore and Fauji hid themselves in a liquor shop in sector 22. “We caught them on Saturday night,” said SIT chief and additional director general of police (crime) Dinesh MN.
Hours after the murder on December 5, Rohit Godara, who said he was associated with Lawrence Bishnoi’s gang, claimed responsibility for the shooting in a Facebook post.
Also Read: Who is Rohit Godara, man who took responsibility for Karni Sena chief's murder?
According to Delhi Police, Godara hired the two assailants to eliminate Gogamedi, who was posing hurdles in the Bishnoi gang’s planned expansion in and around Jaipur. The two suspects also had their own personal motives to kill Gogamedi, police said.
Gogamedi was shot dead by the two assailants at his Jaipur residence on December 5 (Tuesday). The shooters entered Gogamedi’s residence in Shyam Nagar area with the help of Shekhawat, and shot both of them around 1.15pm.
A local resident, Hemraj, also sustained bullet injuries after the accused shot him near Gogamedi’s house, snatched his two-wheeler and fled.
A video of the murder, captured on CCTV installed in Gogamedi’s house, went viral.
On Saturday evening, ahead of the shooter’s arrest, a 23-year-old man — identified as Ramveer Jatt — was arrested from Pilaniyan village in Mahendragarh district of Haryana for allegedly aiding the two accused flee after the crime.
The Rajasthan police ADGP explained how the shooters went missing after the crime.
“After the incident, the shooters reached Ajmer road on Hemraj’s scooter from where Jatt picked them up on his bike and dropped them off at Bagru toll plaza. The two shooters took a Nagaur-bound Rajasthan Roadways bus from there and went missing thereafter,” the ADGP said, of the point at which the Delhi Police was contacted.
The ADGP said the two accused were brought to Jaipur on Sunday for further investigation. “They will be questioned about the involvement of Godara and his gang as well,” he said.
According to a Delhi Police officer, who did not wish to be identified, Fauji said the murder was carried out on the directions of Kapurisar and his aide Virendra Charan.
“Both of them are part of the Goldy Brar-Lawrence Bishnoi axis. To spread their extortion racket in Rajasthan, Rohit Godara has become the part of this criminal nexus. Fauji also revealed that in the last week of November, he came in contact with some close associates of Godara, who promised him a fake passport and a Canadian visa if he would help them in the killing of Gogamedi,” the officer said.
“Rathore, during his interrogation, said he came in contact with the associates of Godara gang in Jaipur jail, after he was arrested in a Pocso case. According to him, Gogamedi had falsely implicated him in that case and he wanted to take revenge,” the officer said.
When contacted, a senior officer of the 11-member SIT said Fauji – a serving army person in the Jat regiment – is also accused in a case, along with five others, for allegedly firing at a team of police that went to arrest them in a theft case on November 9 last year. Rathore has three cases against him, including one each under the Pocso Act and Arms Act.
“Preliminary probe suggests the Rajput leader’s leader murder was plotted from Canada. Godara, who is presently hiding in Canada, has close connections with Goldie Brar and Lawrence Bishnoi’s gangs and was also involved in the murder of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala. Godara entrusted his associate Charan with the killing of the Karni sena chief. Charan utilised his network to send guns to the shooters, who told us during interrogation, that they buried the guns near a hotel in Jaipur after Gogamedi’s murder. Our team is already looking at the possible places to recover the weapons,” the officer said, seeking not to be named.
With inputs from HTC in Jaipur