A few days ago, Karnataka Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy had said that the Special Investigating Team had gotten vital clues on the killers of senior journalist Gauri Lankesh. And now it is being reported that five names have been brought up as key suspects in the case and they are all linked to Sanatan Sanstha, a right-wing organisation based in Goa. However, all the five are said to be missing.
The key suspects are Praveen Limkar, 34, Jayaprakash alias Anna, 45, Sarang Akolkar, 38, Rudra Patil, 37, and Vinay Pawar, 32, reported the Indian Express, and four of them have Interpol red-corner notices against them.
Akolkar, Patil, and Pawar had earlier also been pulled up during a CBI investigations into the murder of rationalists Narendra Dabholkar and Govind Pansare, and also when Kannada scholar and researcher M M Kalburgi was shot dead in 2015.
However, the advocate of the Sanatan Sanstha Sanjay Punalekar recently said in a press conference that some of the members of the organisation have been missing as they are scared of being falsely accused in these and other cases.
Meanwhile, Reddy had earlier claimed that the SIT had clues on the murderers but couldn't share the information with the public as it was confidential. "We have got clues, but we cannot tell things to the media for now because we should have correct evidence for the clues we have got," Outlook India quoted Reddy as saying.
"If there are no proper evidence when we file a charge sheet at the court, it won't stand. So we are trying to collect the evidence correctly... Our SIT is working towards gathering evidence."
Lankesh's murder ignited quite a debate in the country with some blaming the Naxalites for the attack and others claiming that the right-wing was behind the deed.
The SIT had earlier said that it had gotten the facial profile of the attacker with the help of the CCTV footage and the description given by the eyewitnesses and the clues are credible enough to help the cops look for the attacker. A massive hunt had then been launched according to India Today.
The footage, which gives vital clues to the facial profile of the attacker, shows a middle-aged man most likely between the age of 34 and 38 with a lean frame. He is said to be riding the Bajaj Pulsar on which the attackers had fled after shooting the scribe. He was reportedly dressed in a formal full sleeves shirt and wore a band on his right wrist. An identity card can also be seen on him, the website reported.
Even though he was wearing a helmet, it did not have a visor due to which the police reportedly could figure out the profile of his face.
Apart from looking for the attacker, the SIT is also said to be trying to trace the bike that was used that day and is also investigating the details of the bike.
Lankesh was shot dead at her home in Bengaluru on Tuesday, September 5. The 55-year-old journalist was returning home from work and had stepped out of her car to open the gates when she was shot seven times. Four bullets are said to have hit Lankesh and neighbours found her lying on the porch around 8 pm.
