Rajput Leader's Killers Stayed In Chandigarh Hotel, Planned To Go Abroad: Cops

The two persons who allegedly shot Shri Rashtriya Rajput Karni Sena chief Sukhdev Singh Gogamedi in Jaipur were staying on fake IDs at a hotel in Chandigarh while on their run, Delhi Police said on Sunday. Sources said the duo attackers -- Rohit Rathore of Jaipur and Nitin Fauji of Haryana's Mahendragarh -- had planned to flee the country and had been allegedly promised Rs 50,000 each to kill Gogamedi.

The two alleged killers were arrested by the teams of Delhi and Rajasthan police from Hotel Kamal Palace at Sector 24 in Chandigarh on Saturday night.

They were accompanied by another associate Udham Singh who had allegedly provided them logistical support for evading arrest. "The trio have been taken to Jaipur by Rajasthan police for further interrogation," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Amit Goel told PTI.

Goel said the arms used in the commission of the crime are yet to be recovered. According to Special Commissioner of Police (Crime) Ravindra Yadav, the Delhi Police was tracking the shooters soon after they killed Gogamedi at his house in Jaipur on December 5.

According to initial input shared by Rajasthan ADG (Crime) Dinesh M N, after killing Gogamedi, the two attackers had fled to Didwana in a taxi from where they took the bus to Delhi, Yadav said. The duo then got down in Dharuhera and took an autorickshaw to reach Rewari railway station from where they boarded a train to Hisar, he added.

The CCTV footage collected by the Delhi police from the Hisar railway station showed the duo walking out of the station. Rathore could be seen wearing a cap and shawl, the Special CP (Crime) said.

Rathore and Fauji then met the latter's friend Udham Singh who helped them further in hiding from the police, he added.

According to another police officer, Fauji and Singh became acquainted after they underwent training for the Indian Army at the same centre, four years ago.

With Singh's help, the duo hired a taxi for Manali in Himachal Pradesh where they stayed for one or two days and later came back to Chandigarh on December 9, the officer said. The trio used forged aadhar cards with the names of Devender, Jaiveer and Sukhbir to book a room at Hotel Kamal Palace. Based on a tip-off about their whereabouts, a team of Delhi Police Crime Branch accompanied by Rajasthan police reached the hotel at about 8.30 pm and nabbed the trio, the officer added.

The Rajasthan Police took Fauji to Jaipur while Delhi Police brought Rathore and Singh to Delhi. They were taken to Jaipur on Sunday morning, officials said. Fauji was previously involved in a kidnapping case and attack on a cop in Haryana, while Rathore, too, has previous criminal records and spent some time in jail, the officer said. Delhi police officials said they suspected that Rathore had met one Virender Charan who is suspected to be involved in hatching Gogamedi's murder plan on the behest of foreign-based gangster Rohit Godara.

Rohit Godara, who is a close associate of the Lawrence-Goldy Brar gang, in a Facebook post took responsibility for killing Gogamedi soon after his murder on December 5.  Sources said Rathore and Fauji had planned to flee the country and had been allegedly promised Rs 50,000 each to kill Gogamedi. They were also asked to remain underground until they got the passports and visas they were promised.

From Chandigarh, they had a plan to go towards Goa and further in south India, the sources added.

The police said Fauji, a native of Mahendragarh, had returned home during his leave period from the Indian Army but never rejoined and started getting involved in criminal cases in Haryana.

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