In a tragic turn of events, Surat Range Forest Officer Sonal Solanki, aged 33, passed away on Tuesday at Ahmedabad's Civil Hospital from a bullet wound to her head. The incident, initially thought to be an accident, has now been uncovered as a meticulously planned murder, leading to the arrest of her estranged husband and his accomplice.
A Fatal Morning and a Grisly Discovery
The sequence of events began on the morning of November 6. Sonal Solanki was driving with her four-year-old son when a man, later identified as Ishwarpuri Goswami, signaled her to stop near Kamrej. At approximately 8:30 am, Ishwarpuri allegedly shot Solanki in the head. The car subsequently veered off and crashed into a tree.
Alert villagers who spotted the crashed vehicle called for an ambulance. Solanki, who was posted at the Adajan forest department office, was unconscious. She was first rushed to a hospital in Kamrej and then transferred to PP Savani Hospital in Surat. During medical examinations, doctors discovered a bullet lodged in her head, which was surgically removed. However, she never regained consciousness and ultimately succumbed to her injuries.
Her body was handed over to the family after a postmortem and was taken to Surat late Tuesday night. Her cremation is scheduled for Wednesday.
From Suspicion to a Murder Charge
The investigation took a dramatic turn when police pieced together a chilling premeditation plot. It was revealed that Solanki had lodged an FIR at the Kamrej police station on November 3 after finding a GPS tracking device planted in her car while cleaning it. In her complaint, she expressed suspicion that her husband, Nikunj Goswami, an inspector in the Regional Transport Office, was behind it.
Probe findings indicate the accused had planted GPS devices on cars used by Solanki to monitor her daily movements and routine. Although Solanki found and removed one tracker, she could not locate a second device. She was driving the second, still-tracked car on the day of the shooting.
Following her death, the police are amending the initial FIR to include a charge of murder. Nikunj Goswami and his friend Ishwarpuri Goswami were arrested after they surrendered at the Kathore court. The motorcycle used by Ishwarpuri was found abandoned at Malsej Ghat in Maharashtra. The pistol used in the crime has not been recovered, as Ishwarpuri told investigators he threw it into the Ambika river.
A Troubled Marriage and a Planned Crime
The backdrop to this crime is a strained marital relationship. Solanki stated in her FIR that she married Nikunj Goswami in 2020, but the couple later developed differences, leading her to move back to her parents' home in Kamrej. The two were involved in multiple ongoing court cases.
Police confirmed that the murder was well-planned. The use of GPS trackers to stalk the victim's movements points to a cold-blooded conspiracy. While Nikunj was named as a suspect in the initial GPS tracker FIR, he was not booked as an accused due to a lack of concrete evidence at the time.
The case has sent shockwaves through the community, highlighting extreme instances of marital discord turning fatal. The police investigation continues as they build a case against the two accused.
