Multiple teams of SIT probing the murder of journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh have reached Maharashtra and Goa to track down a group of four “highly motivated right-wing extremists” whose arrest they hope will lead to a breakthrough.
Sleuths say the group linked to K.T. Naveen Kumar, a right-wing activist whom the SIT has taken into custody suspecting his role in Gauri’s murder, had visited Karnataka and was in a “very advanced stage of their plot” to target Mysuru-based rationalist K.S. Bhagavan. They suspect that the same group could be behind Gauri’s murder, considering the similarity in the plots.
- The 37-year-old, who hails from K.M. Doddi in Mandya district, was arrested in an illegal arms case on February 18
- Naveen founded Hindu Yuva Sene in 2015 and had links to out-of-State right-wing Hindu extremists who visited Karnataka
- He had been active in Chikkamagaluru district
- The police, who had Naveen on their radar as a suspect in Gauri case, stumbled upon his role in a plot to kill rationalist K.S. Bhagavan
Sources said the group had conducted an arms training camp in the forests of Chamarajanagar and had even done a recce of Mr. Bhagavan’s house in Mysuru. Naveen, who had founded Hindu Yuva Sene in 2015, and was peddling firearms, was on the radar of the SIT in the Gauri case like many others. But his alleged involvement in the plot to target Mr. Bhagavan raised a red flag, leading to his arrest, sources said.
However, the SIT has little material evidence linking him to Gauri’s murder case yet, sources said. The modus operandi of the plot to target Mr. Bhagavan has close resemblance to that of Gauri’s murder, making Naveen a strong suspect in the case.
“Naveen Kumar has proved to be a tough nut to crack. He knows a lot more than what he is letting out, we suspect. The interrogation is on,” said M.N. Anucheth, investigating officer in the Gauri case.
Another officer said despite sustained interrogation, Naveen has not given them any information leading the police to the identity of members of the group that visited the State.
Sources said though the Call Detail Record of Naveen’s phone indicated several calls received from outside the State, most of them were from public pay phones.
‘Face to face meetings’
“Most times, they seem to have met face to face, leaving little trail. The group seems to be well-trained. They are not using mobile phones, making tracking them a herculean task,” an official said, and added that the police did not even know their real names.
But how sure are the police that the same group killed Gauri? “We have come across a plot to kill another rationalist in the State, very similar to the way Gauri was killed. So they have emerged as the prime suspects. But whether the same group killed Gauri or was it the organisation they are linked to will be proven only after we apprehend the elusive group,” an officer said.
