Gogamedi murder: Protests erupt in Rajasthan, Governor Mishra calls Amit Shah

Markets were closed in Jaipur and some other Rajasthan districts and protesters blocked roads and stopped trains on Wednesday, 6 December after a bandh call by the Rashtriya Rajput Karni Sena over the killing of its chief Sukhdev Singh Gogamedi.

Governor Kalraj Mishra spoke to Union Home Minister Amit Shah over the phone and summoned the state chief secretary, home secretary, police chief and Jaipur police commissioner to review the law and order situation in the state.

A dharna which was going on outside the private hospital in Jaipur, where the body of Gogamedi was kept since Tuesday, 5 December was called off on Wednesday night after police assured the family members to arrest the accused in 72 hours and suspend the SHO of Shyam Nagar police station and other policemen guilty of laxity.

The body was shifted from the private hospital to the SMS government hospital for postmortem, which is underway, police said.

DCP (East) Yogesh Goyal said that decision has been taken to suspend the SHO of Shyam Nagar police station and other policemen guilty of laxity.

Funeral will take place at Gogamedi's village in Hanumangarh on Thursday, 7 December.

Earlier in the day, police set up a special investigation team to probe into the killing of the Rajput leader who was shot dead by two men at his house on Tuesday, 5 December.

On Facebook, gangster Rohit Godara -- said to be linked to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang -- has claimed responsibility and said Gogamedi was killed for "backing" his enemies.

Police have identified the two alleged killers as Rohit Rathore from Jaipur and Nitin Fauji from Haryana's Mahendragarh, and announced a cash reward of Rs 5 lakh for information leading to their arrest.

Markets remained closed in Jaipur, Kota, Bundi, Ajmer, Sawai Madhopur, Chittorgarh, Jhalawar, Baran and some other districts while a mass rally was taken out in Udaipur amid heavy deployment of police.

An incident of stone pelting was also reported from Gurjar ki Thadi in Jaipur, but policemen dispersed the gathering. Some people also protested outside the BJP office here.

There was no movement of public transport in Jaipur and the services of roadways buses were also affected, officials said. Long traffic jam was witnessed at 200-foot bypass in the capital city that leads to Delhi as protesters blocked the highway.

The supporters of Gogamedi gathered in the Khatipura area in the morning from where they moved to other parts of the city asking shopkeepers to shut their shops.

Similar protests took place in Jodhpur and Udaipur as well but remained peaceful. The effects of the bandh call were seen in other districts too as people refrained from venturing out.

In Kota, private schools remained closed in view of the protests.

In view of the bandh and jam on the highways in the state, Rajasthan State Road Transport Corporation (RSRTC) stopped operating buses on many highways, a spokesperson said.

North Western Railways chief spokesperson said five trains were stopped by protesters on Bhilwara and Jaipur route, which led to a delay in train movement ranging from 16 to 54 minutes.

Governor Mishra summoned Chief Secretary Usha Sharma, Director General of Police Umesh Mishra, Jaipur Police Commissioner Biju George Joseph and other officials to review the situation.

The governor told the officials to ensure that those behind the killing are arrested soon, according to a Raj Bhawan spokesperson.

Governor Mishra also said the murder in broad daylight is a serious matter.

The SIT will be headed by Additional Director General (Crime) Dinesh MN, the officials said, adding police also carried out searches to nab the two accused.

In the evening, some leaders of the Rajput community claimed outside the private hospital here that the administration has accepted their demands, including a probe by the National Investigation Agency and protection to family and eyewitnesses.

However, Gogamedi's wife Sheela Shekhawat came out and appealed to people sitting on a dharna not to move from there.

She said that till the accused's "encounter" is not done, the community people should not move.

However, later, the family members agreed to call off the dharna.

Sheela Shekhawat addressed the community members and said that written assurance to arrest the accused in 72 hours and suspension of the policemen (guilty of laxity) was given.

She asked the people present there to reach Gogamedi's village in Hanumangarh for funeral on Thursday.

In the FIR registered by Sheela Shekhawat at Shyam Nagar police station, she said that her husband had informed chief minister Ashok Gehlot and the DGP through three letters that he was facing threat to his life.

Also, the Rajasthan Police were informed by the Punjab Police about intelligence input regarding conspiracy to attack on Gogamedi but the DGP did not provide him security deliberately, she alleged.

Sheela Shekhawat named two accused -- Nitin Fauji and Rohit Rathore -- in the FIR.

Earlier, former MLA Manoj Nyangli and community leader Radheysham Tanwar said at the agitation site outside the private hospital in Mansarover that the administration has assured NIA investigation in the matter and protection to the family members.

“The deadlock has ended and a funeral is likely to take place tomorrow,” Nyangli said.

Earlier, Jaipur Police Commissioner Joseph told PTI that the accused who shot dead Gogamedi as well as Naveen Singh Shekhawat, who accompanied them to the Rajput leader's residence, have been identified.

It is a matter of investigation whether Shekhawat, who used to run a cloth shop, was aware of the intentions of the two accused, he said.

Shekhawat's father Girdhari Singh told PTI that his son is being falsely implicated in the case.

BJP leader Rajendra Rathore, who visited the dharna site on Tuesday, told reporters at his residence that he was writing to the Union home minister for an NIA probe.

Earlier in the day, Mahipal Singh Makrana, national president of Shri Rajput Karni Sena, demanded the removal of the state police chief for failing to provide security to Gogamedi.