Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)
Bengaluru, Sep 6: Reportedly the police have taken into custody four persons on the basis of CCTV footage and questioning them over their possible link to the murder of Gauri Lankesh.
The police have also been pinning hopes on eyewitness accounts of people living in her neighbourhood, who are also being asked to come out with whatever information they have relating to this incident.
Two city crime branch teams were dispatched to Chikkamagaluru in connection with an offensive post on the slain rationalist. They took into custody a person named Malli Arjun from Chikkamagaluru who created the said post, and questioned him, it is said.
The police in the meantime, are also pooling details of people who had tweeted to Gauri Lankesh during the last six months. They are not taking any chances and do not want to leave any stone unturned in their effort to solve the case at the earliest.
Earlier report
CM calls for emergency meeting in Vidhan Soudha
Fans, sympathizers and supporters of slain journalist, Gauri Lankesh, have been holding protest in the city against the merciless killing of their favourite crusader against fundamentalism. They have been raising slogans against fundametalists and communal forces and creating camp fires.
The killers had fired seven rounds at her from close range. Two hit her in the chest, one in the forehead, and four hit the wall of her house, it is said.
Eminent writers, journalists and rationalists from the state have vociferously condemned this murder. Many including noted Kannada writer, Devanur Mahadeva, have joined hands in terming the murder as senseless effort to muffle voices for freedom of expression. A large number of people suspect that the relentless fight carried on by Gauri against fundamentalism cost her life.
Siddaramaiah
As of now, the police believe that this is the handiwork of hired killers. They are examining CCTV footage from the door of Gauri's house and nearby. The police suspect that the killers were hiding nearby for the arrival of Gauri, or had followed her home. They are now trying to put together CCTV footage of the route through which Gauri travelled to her home, with the hope of getting some vital information.
Director general of police of the state, Rupak Kumar Dutta, met chief minister, Siddaramaiah, and briefed him about the murder and follow up steps being taken to nab the culprits involved. The chief minister has called for an emergency meeting of top police officials at Vidhan Soudha today afternoon, which will also be attended by home minister, Ramalinga Reddy, to take stock of the situation and beef up investigation.
Police personnel have been questioning neighbours of Gauri Lankesh in an apparent bid to identify the culprits who killed the veteran journalist. It is gathered that they were told by neighbours that Gauri usually returned home by 10 pm but yesterday she was early by about two to two and half hours.
Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee working president, Dinesh Gundu Rao, admitted that this murder has posed a challenge to the state government and asserted that the department will get to the root of the issue and nail the culprits soon. Law minister, T B Jayachandra, said that this incident has similarities with the 2015 murder of renowned scholar, M M Kalburgi, who also was shot at and murdered. Jayachandra also felt that there are links between the murderers involved with both these cases.
Wife of slain rationalist, M M Kalburgi, Umadevi, who said she was shocked at the killing of another rationalist, Gauri Lankesh, even before the investigation into her husband's murder concluded, wanted to know what is wrong with protesting against fundamentalism.