Vishal Goswami, extortionist and gangster accused in 12 murder cases across five states, was arrested by Gujarat police on Friday from Mathura-Naroli highway in Uttar Pradesh. Goswami’s brother Ajay, who is absconding in several cases of armed robbery and murders, was also nabbed in the same operation. Simultaneously, another Gujarat police team arrested Goswami’s accomplices Rinku Goswami and Pritam Goswami from Rudrapur in Uttarakhand. Cops from three states – Gujarat, UP and Uttarakhand – collaborated to nab Goswami, absconding since four years, in a daring operation. City police commissioner Shivanand Jha said two pistols, two country-made revolvers and a large quantity of ammunition was recovered from the gangster. Goswami and his accomplice Suraj had fired shots at a jeweller on CG road on March 13. An extortion call made later to another city-based jeweller proved his nemesis. “An intercepted call had an audio recording ‘drive safely’ playing in background. Only one SUV model has this feature that helped us identify the vehicle used by Goswami. Electronic surveillance revealed Goswami’s movement between Delhi and Mathura,” said DCP (crime branch) Dipen Bhadran.
On Friday, teams led by inspector J M Yadav and Bhavesh Rozia zeroed in on the SUV parked outside a house on the Mathura-Naroli highway. Five minutes later Goswami emerged with Ajay and two %associates – Suraj and Himalaya. Vishal Goswami & co attacked cops in their bid to flee. “Our team opened fire in self-defense that hit Goswami in right thigh. Ajay was arrested, while Suraj and Himalaya escaped. After primary treatment, cops are bringing Goswami to Ahmedabad by late night,” Jha said. With Goswami’s arrest, jewellers in Gujarat, UP, Rajasthan, MP and Karnataka can breathe easy as he used to target them. In Gujarat, Goswami is wanted in nine offences including three murders, bank loot, extortion and robbery.
