Surat Police late on Wednesday arrested RTO Inspector Nikunj Goswami and his assistant for their alleged involvement in the shooting of Surat Range Forest Officer Sonal Solanki on November 6.
Goswami told the police that he wanted to get custody of his four-year-old son and that his wife (Sonal Solanki) had not even allowed him to meet him for the past three months.
On Wednesday, Nikunj Goswami, along with his assistant Ishwar Goswami, arrived before Additional Civil Judge and Judicial Magistrate of the First Class Court of Justice SK Vatania at Kathor court.
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Sources said that when all the listed matters were settled, Nikunj and Ishwar were the only ones present in the courtroom, before the break, at around 2 pm.
When questioned, Nikonj told the judge that he had come with a request to surrender himself before the court.
The judge rejected Nikunj’s request to surrender because there were charges against him under the Atrocities Act. The court was unable to take a decision because the case falls under the jurisdiction of the Special Atrocities Court in Surat.
Kamrej police personnel, along with LCB (Local Crime Branch) police, arrested them in court.
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The duo was taken to LCB police station in Kamrej on Wednesday afternoon. They were arrested on charges of attempted murder, Arms Act, and various sections of the Atrocities Act.
Sonal Solanki’s condition remains critical, according to doctors at BP Savani Hospital in Surat.
After initial interrogation, Nikunj confessed to stalking his wife Sonal and said he was involved in the shooting incident, police said.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Surat Rural Crime Branch Police Inspector R B Bhatole said, “Sonal Solanki (RFO) has been staying with her parents in Jokha village in Surat district for over a year, along with her 4-year-old son, after being separated from her husband due to frequent quarrels. She also filed family dispute cases in the Surat district court, which are still pending. Nikunj Goswami wanted custody of his son, and for the last three months, he has not been given “With that.” To meet his son by Sonal, he tried his best to convince her to meet his son, but it all failed, and with that in mind, he called his friend Ishwar Goswami and made a plan to eliminate her.
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He also added, “To track her movements, Nikunj installed a GPS monitoring system in Sonal’s car. On November 3, she discovered the tracking device and filed a stalking complaint against Nikunj Goswami at Kamrej police station. He bought a bike and handed over the gun he had bought almost a year ago to Ishwar. He convinced Ishwar to kill her. On November 6, when Sonal left her house in a car to drop her son to school, Ishwar followed her somewhere between Oka and Vav village, motioned for her to stop the car, and when Sonal opened window, Ishwar took out a gun from his pocket and fired one bullet into her head, between the right ear and the forehead, then fled.
Bhatole also added, “Nikunj was present about 8 km from the accident site near APMC market in Sahara Darwaja in Surat city. After the incident, Nikunj and Ishwar were in touch over phones. Following the incident, Nikunj left Surat city, and Ishwar also left Surat. The duo met in Indore and later decided to surrender themselves before the court.”
(tags for translation) Nikunj Goswami Arrest
