A CCTV camera at Gauri Lankesh's residence in Rajarajeshwarinagar, Bengaluru. DH photo
The footage from a CCTV camera installed near the main door of Gauri Lankesh’s house in Rajarajeshwari Nagar has captured the assassin who shot four rounds at her.
Two bullets hit her stomach and one her chest, police said on Wednesday.
Digital video recorders (DVRs) at Gauri’s house were password-protected and only she knew the password.
Investigators roped in experts to crack the recorders open. In the footage, the man entering her compound appears to be short and stout. He wears a jacket, a full-masked helmet and gloves, police sources said.
The footage is in black and white. “We only have a limited visual clue to the shooter. We have started investigation using other means to identify him,” said a senior police officer privy to the investigation.
Though the footage provides vital evidence, investigators are hampered by the poor light--the crime took place between 7.45 pm and 8 pm. They are not sure if digital enhancement at a forensic lab will help.
Accomplice details
Sources also said CCTV footage from a different camera showed a man in similar attire waiting on a motorcycle. He must have helped the killer escape, police suspect. The registration number of the vehicle is not clear in the footage.
The crime has no eyewitnesses; the neighbours came out to see a bleeding Gauri only after hearing the gun shots. By then, the assailants had fled. A police team carried out a reverse recce from her house to her office in Gandhi Bazaar on the route she had taken on Tuesday night. The team estimated the time taken between the two points to retrieve CCTV footage and check if anyone was following her car.
Police will analyse footage from 33 cameras en route.
Mobile call history
Investigators have obtained her call records before and after the crime.
“The assailants either waited near her house to strike or followed her and committed the crime,” the officer said.
According to neighbours, Gauri usually returned home after 10 pm, but on Tuesday she was back by 7.45 pm, strengthening the hypothesis that she had been tailed.
Gauri was the editor of Kannada tabloid Gauri Lankesh Patrike. She had championed many causes, including the rehabilitation of Naxals, and was a trenchant critic of the BJP and the RSS.