Shri Rashtriya Rajput Karni Sena (SRRKS) president Sukhdev Singh Gogamedi was shot dead on Tuesday at his home in Jaipur by three gunmen, one of whom was subsequently killed in retaliatory firing, police said. According to police, two others present in the house, including one of Gogamedi’s security guards, were injured in the exchange of fire that took place Tuesday afternoon in Jaipur’s Shyam Nagar. A hawker from the area was also injured when the assailants opened fire at him as they tried to steal his vehicle, police said. Gangster Rohit Godara took responsibility for Gogamedi’s killing in a Facebook post. Rajasthan DGP Umesh Mishra said police were carrying out raids at his hideouts. “Raids are being conducted in possible hideouts of the accused, including those in the Bikaner division. We have also spoken with the Haryana DGP. The Rohit Godara gang has taken responsibility. We will soon make arrests,” the DGP said. Regarding the incident, Jaipur Commissioner of Police Biju George Joseph said: “Prima facie it seems that three people shot Gogamedi in his house in Shyam Nagar today. One of the assailants was also shot dead in retaliatory firing. He has been identified as one Naveen Singh Shekhawat. A friend of Gogamedi was critically injured and his personal security officer was shot in the leg.” VIDEO | CCTV footage shows two men firing multiple shots at Rashtriya Rajput Karni Sena president Sukhdev Singh Gogamedi and another man standing at the door. Gogamedi died, while one of his security personnel and another person were injured in the firing. (Disclaimer: PTI… pic.twitter.com/2W4TQely7C — Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) December 5, 2023 The Commissioner said that the remaining two assailants, who were yet to be identified, were on the run. Shekhawat, the assailant who was killed, is from Shahpura in Jaipur district, said Jaipur South DCP Yogesh Goyal. “We are investigating his background," the DCP said. After he was shot, Gogamedi was taken to a hospital, where he was declared dead. Members of the Rajput community then arrived in large numbers in the hospital. “Gogamedi had been receiving threats for the past one year and had also asked for more security from police. We want the immediate arrest of the accused and want them hanged. We are not going to accept the body as long as our demands are not met,” said Narayan Singh Divrala, the Jaipur district president of the Shri Rajput Karni Sena (SRKS), a different outfit to the one Gogamedi led. “Our outfits may have been different, but the entire Rajput community is united at this tough time,” Divrala said. The SRKS was formed in 2006 by the late Lokendra Singh Kalvi, and in recent times, several splinter groups have formed their own outfits, retaining the Karni Sena moniker. Gogamedi was once close to Kalvi and was the state president of SRKS, but was later expelled from the group by Kalvi in 2015, after which he floated the SRRKS. Over the last few years, the Gogamedi-led SRRKS has achieved a higher profile than its parent organisation, at times taking out violent protests – most notably against the movie ‘Padmaavat’. The outfit alleged that it distorted history, and members of the group assaulted director Sanjay Leela Bhansali in January 2017 during shooting of the film at Jaigarh fort in Jaipur. Rajputs in Rajasthan have traditionally supported the BJP, while Jats have supported the Congress. Rajputs are among the most politically relevant and powerful communities in the state and are key voters in about 25 seats or 1/8th of total 200 Assembly seats, while influencing many others. This time too, nearly two dozen MLAs have been elected from the Rajput community, an overwhelming majority of them from the BJP.
