Gauri Lankesh was murdered with same kind of gun used to kill Kalburgi, Pansare and Dabholkar

Two days after Gauri Lankesh was shot dead at her Bengaluru residence, the investigation teams have come up with a shocking discovery. It has come to light that the weapon used to kill the Kannada journalist was of the same make that had earlier been used to shoot two famous rationalists.

Read: Journalist Gauri Lankesh murder investigation updates: Police net extends to Chikmagalur

Similar country made gun

The gun – an easily available country made 7.65 mm pistol – had been used in the killing of 77-year-old Kannada scholar MM Kalburgi. The Dharwad based rationalist was shot dead on August 30, 2015.

The same kind of weapon was also used in the murder of two rationalists in Maharashtra. 81-year-old Govind Pansare of Kolhapur was killed on February 16, 2015. Before that, on August 20, 2013, a 68-year-old Narendra Achyut Dabholkar, a doctor, rationalist and author was also shot dead with the same weapon.

Are murders linked?

Examination of the cartridges and bullets recovered from the unsolved murders of Kalburgi, Pansare and Dabholkar have revealed two important details.

The 7.65 mm pistol used to shoot Pansare in 2015 was used to kill Kalburgi later that year. In fact, one of the two guns used to shoot Pansare has earlier been used to fire at Dabholkar in 2013.

Now, the Bengaluru police will look into the forensic analysis of the bullet fragments and cartridges retrieved from Gauri's murder scene and compare it with the existing forensic information of the aforementioned murders to either confirm or rule out the involvement of a common group.

Meanwhile, the senior journalist's sister Kavitha Lankesh has told the police that Gauri had noticed some people lurking near her home but had not informed the police.

Gauri's brother, Indrajit Lankesh at a press meet on Thursday said he and his family will co-operate with the SIT.

He also praised her for her work for the Naxalites.