Police identify man who issued ‘hit list’ after Gauri Lankesh killing

At the protest march on Thursday. (Source: Tashi Tobgyal)

Two months after a man posted a “hit list” on Facebook — suggesting that journalist Sagarika Ghose, writers Shobhaa De and Arundhati Roy and activists Kavitha Krishnan and Shehla Rashid should meet the same fate as murdered journalist Gauri Lankesh — the Delhi Police Cyber Crime Cell said they have got details of the accused from Facebook. However, police said they will reveal his identity only after an arrest is made.

The development is significant because police probes into cases of cyber crime often hit a roadblock owing to late or no response from social media websites. Delhi Police sources said they had requested Facebook to provide the details of an account under the name ‘VirkamAditya Rana’, which had been deleted after Ghose filed a complaint and a case was lodged on September 7. Sources said the cyber cell unit of the Delhi Police received the IP address of the accused last week.

The accused’s post read: “Not an iota of sympathy for Lankesh, and the killers should have shredded her body with bullets and even blasted apart her apartment. Serves her and her kind right for the damages these so-called journos have caused our nation (sic).”

In another post, the accused wrote, “Let d shooting of #GauriLankesh serve as example to those anti-nationals who masquerade as journalists & activists. I hope this is not d last. should be episode of serial assassinations of all anti-nationals. Shobhaa De; Arundhati Roy; Sagarika Ghose; Kavitha Krishnan; Shiela (Shehla) Rashid etc at d end of a list that should start with anti-national & treacherous politicians. A hit list be prepared & eliminate all those on d list. At last a ray of hope (sic).”

Ghose had posted a screenshot of the post on Twitter and asked the Delhi Police to take action. In yet another post, the accused had suggested that JNU student leaders Kanhaiya Kumar and Umar Khalid should also be on the “hit list”.  Lankesh, 55, known as an anti-establishment voice, was shot dead by unknown assailants outside her Bengaluru home on September 5. She had returned home in her car and was opening the gate when assailants approached on a motorcycle and gunned her down. Police are yet to make an arrest in the case.