Police personnel and FSL team members outside the residence of Shri Rashtriya Rajput Karni Sena's President Sukhdev Singh Gogamedi, where he was shot dead by unidentified assailants, in Jaipur, Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023.
Credit: PTI Photo
Jaipur: A Karni Sena leader was shot dead in broad daylight here today as unidentified assailants barged into the house and began firing indiscriminately.
Sukhhdev Singh Gogamedi, president of Rashtriya Rajput Karni Sena, was killed and two others injured as three people barged into his house in Shyam Nagar, a posh locality, after firing at his gunman, who was guarding the house.
On hearing the first shot, Gogamedi came out, which is when the assailants fired at least two rounds directly at him. One shot him in the head and another just scraped his chest. These two people then entered the room and fired indiscriminately at two others present who were sitting in the living room. The police said the assailants, four of them, had probably come in a car and three of them escaped on a scooter, which was wrested from a passerby, who was also attacked.
According to doctors, Gogamedi died on the spot, although he and two others injured were taken to a nearby hospital.
The entire incident has been captured on CCTV.
As the news spread, a large number of Rajput youths began gathering at the hospital. The police are on the lookout for the assailants.
Gogamedi was part of Karni Sena, a socio-cultural outfit which was founded by Lokendra Singh Kalvi, who passed away this year. It is a Rajput organisation, which was formed in 2006 to protect the culture, tradition and honour of Rajputs and wields power and influence amongst the Rajput community. All political parties in Rajasthan try to woo this section through this organisation. Lokendra’s son Bhawani Singh Kalvi had joined BJP just days before the Assembly elections in October this year.
Karni Sena first gained notoriety in 2008 after it opposed Ashutosh Gowarikar’s Bollywood film Jodhaa Akbar, in which they claimed Jodha was not Akbar’s wife and hence their history was being distorted. The film could not be released in Rajasthan.
The more recent protest was in 2017 against Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s film Padmaavat, in which they said their queen Padmavati was being depicted in a bad light. Actress Deepika Padukone was threatened and Bhansali roughed up on the sets.
Gogamedi, who was part of the Karni Sena, broke away due to internal bickering and formed the Rashtriya Rajput Karni Sena and became its president. In 2021, they again came together and the organisation came to be known as Rashtriya Rajput Karni Sena.
A member of the Goldy Brar gang, Rohit Godara Kapurisr, has claimed responsibility for the killing. In a Facebook post, he wrote, “We take full responsibility for Sukhdev Gogamedi’s murder.” He said Godamedi used to support our enemies.
Goldy Brar is a Canada based gangster and wanted by National Investigation Agency in various cases including the murder of Punjabi singer Siddhu Moosewala.