People hold placards and candles during a vigil for Gauri Lankesh. (REUTERS/Amit Dave)
Six months after journalist Gauri Lankesh was shot dead, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Thursday arrested a man said to be linked with a right-wing radical group in connection with the case. This is the first arrest made in the case.
The accused KT Naveen Kumar was initially arrested by the Karnataka police for illegally possessing five bullets. After interrogation, he was taken into eight-days custody by the SIT for suspected links in the Lankesh murder case. While Naveen’s family pleads innocence, Kumar is said to be allegedly involved with Sanatan Sanstha, which has been linked to the shooting of rationalists Narendra Dabholkar and Govind Pansare. Investigations have shown that Kumar, during conversations about guns and ammunition with friends in Maddur, alluded to his links with the Lankesh murder.
Read | Who is Gauri Lankesh?
Naveen Kumar at a Hindu Yuva Sena event in Maddur
The police have also reportedly seized books and material related to the Sanstha from Kumar’s homes following his arrest. He is reported to have attended meetings in the outfit’s headquarters last year, and a senior lawyer of the Sanstha is among those who have tried to meet Kumar in custody. Kumar, had, in fact also organised a “sabha” of Hindu activists during last November in Karnataka. The sabha was a joint venture of the Hindu Yuva Sena’s Maddur unit and the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti, a sister concern of the Sanatan Sanstha based in Goa’s Ponda.
Lankesh, 55, a staunch critic of religious extremists and right-wing ideology was shot dead at her home in west Bengaluru on September 15, 2017. She edited Lankesh Patrike, a weekly newspaper.
Following her murder, protests demanding strict action had taken place across the country. The state government, which constituted the SIT headed by Inspector General of Police (Intelligence) B K Singh, had announced Rs 10 lakh reward for anyone giving clues about the perpetrators of the crime.
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- Mar 9, 2018 at 9:53 pmIt is election season. Sidharamaiah will go on arresting Hindus in this case until the election.Reply
Mark SMar 9, 2018 at 9:01 pmI knew the culprit would be from right wing Hindu terrorist organisation because when Gauri Lankesh was killed, there was a collective euphoria from all right wing trolls including the one ones that Modi follows on twitter. Thy called the departed soul a KutiaReply- Indian SinghMar 9, 2018 at 9:07 pmCONgress pulls it out JUST IN TIME for karnataka State elections makes it looks HUGELY SUSPICIOUS. ....................... Especially when CONgress STRATEGY for Karnataka Election is AHINDA POLITICS wherein, CONgress is hoping to win election with UNITED CHRISTIAN and MUSLIM VOTE and a part of DIVIDED HINDU Votes.Reply
- Indian SinghMar 9, 2018 at 7:54 pmAs per Deccan Chronicle News Report, this chap was picked up from his home in Chikmangulre by Police on 14-2-2018 and shown as arrested at Bangalore with a Revolver and 15 Bullets on 18-2-2018. .......................... Four of his friends were picked up later by Police, trashed and were being forced to give statement under CrPC section 164 but the JUDGE refused to record it when the JUDGE realised that these FOUR were COERCED into doing it by Police under threat. ............................ All this DRAMA is part of AHINDA POLITICS of CONgress in Karnataka.Reply
- יִםךטאַרןמןאטMar 9, 2018 at 8:26 pmAnd at the time when he was picked up, he was in a Mandir singing - in full Gusto - Mira Bai Bhajans. This is just Congress trying to give Pi55 drinking Hindus a bad name, where as in reality the murder was committed by the 16th generation descendant of Gaznavi, who is a communist.Reply
- Indian SinghMar 9, 2018 at 9:09 pmFACTS should be refuted by FACTs and NOT FOOLISH GARBAGE.
- Rj DiMar 9, 2018 at 7:04 pmLooks like a conspiracy before elections, what else you expect from congress government?Reply
