Sukhdev Singh Gogamedi
Credit: X/@sukhdevgogamedi
Rashtriya Rajput Karni Sena president Sukhdev Singh Gogamedi was shot dead in the living room of his house in Jaipur on December 5 by three men. Police said one of the three assailants was killed in retaliatory firing by Gogamedi's security guards.
Soon after the news of the attack on Gogamedi broke, protests erupted in Churu, Udaipur, Alwar, Jaipur and Jodhpur districts.
Here's all you need to know about the slain Rajput leader:
1. Gogamedi formed Rashtriya Rajput Karni Sena after he was expelled from Sri Rajput Karni Sena in 2015 over differences with its founder Lokendra Singh Kalvi. Sri Rajput Karni Sena - formed in 2006 - advocates caste-based reservations for Rajputs.
2. Gogamedi was considered a close confidante of Kalvi at one point, and was also reportedly appointed the Rajasthan chief of the group.
3. Both these outfits had protested against Deepika Padukone-starrer Padmaavat in 2018 over alleged distortion of historical facts about the Rajput community.
4. Karni Sena first gained attention 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.
5. 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. Actor Deepika Padukone was threatened and Bhansali roughed up on the sets.
6. 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.”
(With inputs from DHNS, PTI)