The only witness in the Surat Range Forest Officer (RFO) shooting case, Sonalben Solanki – her four-year-old son – told police that he heard a loud noise – resembling the sound of “firecrackers” – after which his mother lost control of the steering wheel, causing her car to crash into a roadside tree on Thursday.
Police said Sonalben was shot in the forehead while she was driving her son to school. She is undergoing treatment in hospital, where doctors said on Monday that her condition remains critical.
Police are yet to trace the woman’s husband, Nikunj Goswami, an inspector at the regional transport office, who is suspected of playing a role in the shooting incident.
Doctors at BP Sawani Hospital said that Sonalben has not regained consciousness yet.
Sonalben’s son now resides at his ancestral home in their village in Kamrig taluka.
On Monday, a team of Surat Rural Police, along with the minor’s teachers and family members, reached the village. The police spoke with the minor in the presence of his family members to find out what happened on the day of the accident.
“We took the boy to a safer environment and spoke to him. He told us that he was sitting on the front passenger seat of the car and playing. He heard a sound – similar to the sound of a firecracker – and soon the car rammed into a tree on the side of the road. He and his mother were injured after their heads hit the car’s dashboard. The minor could not remember further details,” Surat Rural Police Deputy Inspector R R Sarvaiya said.
“We suspect that someone – the suspected shooter – may have pointed out the car driven by Sonalben Solanki. There was fog, so she may not have immediately recognized the person while driving. She may have stopped the car and spoke to the person after he lowered the window. Later, the person fired a single shot from a pistol,” he added.
Police are searching for the accused Nikunj Goswami, the victim’s husband and an RTO inspector at Surat RTO office. Multiple teams were formed and deployed in different areas to locate and arrest him. “Our teams will arrest him soon and later and more details about the case are likely to be revealed,” Sarvaiya added.
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Police sources said that on the morning of November 6, Sonalben left her home at around 8:15 a.m. with her son to drive him to school, in her Honda Amazi car. After traveling approximately three kilometers, her car collided with a tree on the side of the road. After learning about the accident, her brother Hardik reached the spot and took his sister to the hospital in Kamrej and then to BB Sawani Hospital in Surat. Doctors operated on her and removed a bullet from her head.
Sources close to the family said that Sonal married Nikunj in 2020. Over the past year, Sonal has been separated from her husband and has been staying with her parents in Gokha village, due to her husband’s alleged affair with another woman and frequent quarrels.
In January this year, Sonal Solanki, who was staying at her parents’ house after disagreements with her husband, received information that her husband was in an apartment in Surat. Sonal informed the Umra police and reached the apartment where she allegedly saw her husband with a woman. Nikunj then took Solanki and the woman to Umrah police station. Police sources said that the problem was later resolved and no complaint was filed with the police.
Sources said that two cases are currently ongoing between the couple in the Surat District Court.
(tags for translation) Surat RFO shooting
