Gangster Rohit Godara's Ancestral House Partially Demolished Overnight In Bikaner; Police Launch Probe | Video

Jaipur: A large section of the ancestral residence of notorious gangster Rohit Godara in Bikaner was pulled down by unidentified persons overnight, police said on Wednesday.

According to police, the demolition took place at a time when no one was present at the property in Loonkaransar town.

Loonkaransar Circle Officer Ranveer Singh said the police received information about the incident on Tuesday morning, following which the local station house officer visited the site. He said preliminary assessment suggested that an earthmover machine was used to bring down a considerable part of the building.

Singh said villagers in the vicinity claimed they were unaware of the demolition, explaining that scattered houses in the area are located far apart from one another.

He added that residents also suggested that the sound of the machine could have gone unnoticed amid the noise of air coolers running in nearby homes.

Police said they are examining CCTV footage from the area along with other available evidence in an effort to trace the culprits.

The house had earlier been home to Godara's father Sant Das, mother Gita, his brother Hanuman Swami, and Hanuman's wife and children, though none of them were living in the property when the demolition occurred. Officials said Godara's parents and brother are currently in judicial custody in connection with separate extortion cases.

Hanuman Swami was arrested in an extortion case registered in Sri Ganganagar, while his parents face allegations in a separate case lodged in Churu's Ratangarh. Godara himself continues to evade arrest and is believed to be currently based in Azerbaijan, police said.

Officials further said Hanuman's wife had left the house along with her children roughly 10 to 12 days ago, requesting neighbours to look after the family's crops during her absence. Singh said no formal complaint regarding the demolition has been filed so far, and that further action would be taken once a report is received.

Godara's name had surfaced last week in connection with "Operation Hardball", a coordinated crackdown on Indian organised crime networks carried out by law enforcement agencies in the United States, Canada and Europe.

The operation resulted in the arrest of 24 individuals linked to various crimes, including the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, as stated by the US Department of Justice. Godara had reportedly been identified as the European head of the gangster Lawrence Bishnoi's crime network. 

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