Gauri Lankesh murder: CCTV images sent to US lab for enlarged visuals

Gauri Lankesh murder: CCTV images over the fortnight leading up to the September 5 murder have become a central part of the investigations. (File photo)

A special investigation team (SIT) of Karnataka Police probing Gauri Lankesh’s murder has sent a series of images of the shooting, captured on a CCTV camera at the journalist-activist’s home, to a digital laboratory in the United States for enhancement in an effort to identify the assailants.

CCTV images over the fortnight leading up to the September 5 murder have become a central part of the investigations.

Lankesh, 55, was shot dead in the front yard of her Bengaluru home at 8 pm on September 5. A series of images from the CCTV footage, captured by two cameras in the driveway and one on the porch of her home, include front images of the killer wearing a helmet.

The images have been sent to a laboratory in the US for enhancement and the results are expected in a couple of days, according to police officials involved with the probe.

The SIT is attempting to identify images of the killer in an effort to find a match among a list of missing suspects involved in similar crimes in the country. A key focus of the CCTV footage-based investigations is also to identify the motorcycle used by the killers.

Police sources said the SIT viewed in real time the entire quantum of visual data stored in the digital video recorder attached to the CCTV cameras. The visuals for a fortnight were viewed in real time to ensure that no activity that occurred in front of the house was missed.

Investigators are hoping to narrow down the search for suspects from the CCTV information with respect to facial identities of the attackers, and the vehicle they used. Although a hunt has been launched for the vehicle used for the crime based on an understanding of its make, more information is being gathered from video footage, sources said.