Surat Firing Case: Forest officer still ‘critical’; 4-yr-old son may be sole witness of shooter, say police

This comes two days after the Surat police booked Goswami for stalking, on the basis of a complaint from the RFO who allegedly found a GPS tracker while cleaning her car – a WagonR – inside the bonnet with a SIM card. On Thursday, a friend of Solanki’s brother, Hardik Solanki, allegedly found her lying inside another vehicle owned by the couple – a black Honda Amaze – that had hit a tree off the road. Her son was in the passenger seat, crying.

According to the FIR filed at the Kamrej police station, Sonal Solanki left her home to drop her son off at school in Kamrej in the car at 8:15 am on Thursday. At 8:30 am, Hardik’s friend Rohit Gamit, a resident of Jokha village in the same tehsil, was on his way to his work when he saw Sonal, her head on the steering wheel with her forehead bleeding and the boy crying.

Hardik called his brother-in-law, Jayesh Solanki (husband of Sonal’s sister), who also reached the scene. “Sonal was in an unconscious state, and they took her to Dinbandhu Hospital at Kamrej. She was shifted to P P Sawani Hospital in Surat city at 11 am. As the doctors administered primary treatment, she regained consciousness and they later conducted a CT scan. The CT scan reports showed a foreign object lodged in her head,” the FIR said.

Operation lasted over four hours

P P Sawani Hospital CEO, Vipul Talaviya, told The Indian Express, “After getting permission from her family members, we took Sonal to the operating theatre at 1:30 pm. A team of doctors carried out the surgery until 4.45 pm, and it was later found that the foreign object was a bullet. We immediately contacted the Surat police and informed them. The bullet hit above the right eye and ear, on the forehead.”

He added, “Presently, there is a slow recovery seen in her health, but her condition is still critical, and we have to wait for the next 72 hours.”

Surat Rural Deputy Superintendent of Police R R Sarvaiya said, “When our team reached the accident scene on Thursday afternoon and saw the car, we found that the driver’s side window was open while the other windows were rolled up. The car had hit a tree on the roadside on Jokha to Vav road in Kamrej. The distance from her house to the accident site exceeds 3 kilometres. Sonalben was travelling with her 4-year-old son to drop him off at school. There is no injury to the son.”

He said, “The bullet was sent to the FSL office for lab analysis. We have sent teams to the house of the accused, Nikunj Goswami, but he is absconding. We learnt that Nikunj took a 25-day leave from his office, claiming that he was travelling out of the state. Our teams found that Nikunj has a licensed revolver, which he had submitted to the Mehsana police two months ago.”

‘A difficult marraige’

Sarvaiya added, “The marriage between Sonalben and Nikunj has apparently been difficult for the past two years. She had filed a complaint under the Dowry Act accusing Nikunj of domestic violence at a police station in Surat city, a year ago. Nikunj then approached the Gujarat High Court, which issued an order against his arrest. Two days ago, a GPS tracker system with a SIM card was recovered from her car. She lodged a complaint, pointing suspicion at her husband Nikunj and his family. Two court cases are ongoing between the couple in the Surat court. There was no firearm recovered from inside or outside the car that Sonal was driving on Thursday”.

Hardik Solanki, a resident of Jokha village in Kamrej taluka of Surat district, works as an electrical assistant with Dakshin Gujarat Vij Company Ltd (DGVCL) in Laskana village in Surat district. In his complaint he said that Sonal Solanki, who is older to him, married Nikunj Goswami — an Inspector with the Surat RTO — in 2020. Goswami hails from Mehsana and was living with her in Surat, along with their son.

“For the past year and a half, they have been engaged in frequent quarrels over minor issues. Sonal returned to her parents’ home in Jokha village with her son and has been staying there for the past year. She used to commute to her office by car. Even after the separation, Nikunj and his family members continued to harass her mentally,” claimed Hardik in the police complaint.

Hardik accused Nikunj Goswami or his family members of involvement in the incident of the alleged firing on his sister. Kamrej Police have booked Nikunj Goswami under BNS section 109 (1) (attempt to murder) and different sections of the Atrocity Act.

Sources in the Surat Forest Department said on Friday that Sonal had been serving as a Range Forest Officer for the past three years, primarily working in the planning department. No firearm was issued to her as her duties were confined to the office. She had over ten years of experience working in the State Forest Department. She was posted as a forester in the Dangs Forest Department before being promoted to RFO and assigned to the Surat office.

Sources in Surat RTO said Nikunj Goswami was directly recruited as an inspector with the RTO and has been serving at the Surat RTO office for the past four years.

Kamrej police sources said that both his mobile phones are switched off. Teams have been formed to trace him, the sources said.