Black buck case: 20 years on, Salman Khan's assistant no where to be found

The elusive Gawre has claimed to be a resident of Noor Ki Chawl in Behrampada, Bandra East and remained a mystery in the records of the Jodhpur forest department (FD) since the case was registered

Noor Ki Chawl, Gawre's alleged residence in Behrampada. Pic/Atul Kamble

Twenty years after actor Salman Khan hunted two blackbucks in Rajasthan, the hunt for one of the accused, Dinesh Gawre, is still on. The police claim Gawre, said to be Khan's assistant at the time, was present in the Gypsy that the actor and his co-stars were travelling in and could have helped in building a watertight case against Khan.

The elusive Gawre has claimed to be a resident of Noor Ki Chawl in Behrampada, Bandra East and remained a mystery in the records of the Jodhpur forest department (FD) since the case was registered. As per the records of Jodhpur FD on October 1, Gawre was present in the Gypsy when Khan killed two blackbucks in Kankani, Rajasthan.

'Never heard of him'
mid-day visited Gawre's former claimed residence Noor ki Chawl to know about him, but surprisingly, nobody in the locality is even familiar with his name. Mohammad Jamshed, 45, a resident said," I have been residing here since 1996 and work in the same area. Many people come here daily but I've never heard of his [Gawre's] name."

Shaqeer Sheikh, 47, another resident said, "I've lived here with my family since 24 years and know many people here but I don't know about this man. His name is new to me. Even after mid-day's query, I asked a few people if they knew anything about him, but they responded in the negative."

No trace
Investigators in the case also claimed they have tried to trace him in the past, but in vain. Lalit Kumar Boda the forest officer and former investigating officer of the case said, "We have been searching for him Since the case has been registered, but haven't found him anywhere. In 1999, I had personally visited Mumbai and carried out search operations along with Nirmal Nagar police station for more than four to five days but there was no trace of him."

Gawre was in Jodhpur till October 8, 1998, a week after the incident. He left on that day and came to Mumbai via flight after Khan asked to bring the weapons back. He'd travelled under a different name, Kumar D, said FD officials.

Gawre gave a second address, too. Mahipal Bishnoi, counsel for the Bishnoi community said, "Gawre is a prime accused in three out of four hunting cases against Khan. In the blackbuck case, he was assisting Khan and was in the Gypsy. After the incident, he took the weapons to Mumbai. In the Chinkara case, Gawre claimed to be a resident of the Galaxy Apartment."

Also read: Black buck poaching case: Bishnois to approach HC against Salman Khan's bail order

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