The Bangalore City Police have moved swiftly in the investigation of the murder case of journalist Gauri Lankesh, who was shot dead at her residence in Rajrajeshwari Nagar in the city on Tuesday night.
Gauri Lankesh was a well-known journalist, activist, critic of right-wing politics and Naxal sympathiser. Her murder has shocked people across the nation.
Politicians, writers, journalists and thinkers are currently engaged in blame-game over her killing. Some have even held right-wing activists responsible for her murder, while others have connect it to Naxals.
But nothing is clear so far, even as the investigation into the case moves on and the police unearth some information. Here is a peek into the probe of the Gauri Lankesh murder case, and the details that have emerged so far:
1. Soon after Gauri Lankesh's murder on Tuesday night, police commissioner T Suneel Kumar got information about the incident and directed all DCPs to carry out nakabandi across the city.
As a precautionary measure, the police put in place stringent checks at toll gates in Nelamangala, Hosur Road and NICE Road.
2. Three special teams — set up to crack the case — are on the lookout for the suspects. They are reportedly interrogating Lankesh's neighbours, colleagues, friends and kin.
3. Hours after the incident, ballistic experts from FSL arrived at the site of Gauri Lankesh's murder to analyse clues and determine the type of weapons used in the killing. They revealed that the assailants had used a .32-bore country pistol to kill the journalist.
4. The police have come to know that the assailants had been following her and roaming near her residence for three days. They had apparently planned to kill her on September 2, but their plan reportedly failed because of the presence of her neighbours.
5. The police have taken the cellphones of Gauri Lankesh and those working at her residence. They have learnt that Gauri was repeatedly getting missed calls from two numbers. The person had also sent her blank messages. The cops are on lookout for the person.
6. The police have also accessed the calls from three towers located in Rajrajeshwari Nagar, Basavangudi and Chamarajpeth. They are looking for suspicious and repeated calls when she travelled from her office in Basavangudi to her residence.
7. The police have accessed video footage from two of the three CCTV cameras installed at her residence. These videos show Gauri Lankesh parking her car in front of the gate at 7:56 pm on Tuesday.
The assailants shot three rounds while she was opening the gate. Two bullets hit the wall and the third pierced the left side of her body. She tried to run into her house, but collapsed on the ground.
They shot another three rounds from very close range. Two bullets pierced her chest, while the third entered her forehead. She died on the spot.
8. The assailants, who wore helmets, fled on a white Honda Activa after murdering Gauri Lankesh. The police suspect that they might have travelled to Chikmagalur via Ramanagar. A team of cops has reached the city as a part of the investigation.
9. There are around 500 CCTV cameras installed on the road from Lankesh's residence to the office, and the police are also looking into footage from them.
10. Meanwhile, a guy named Arjun had posted a comment on facebook glorifying the murder of Gauri Lankesh within hours of the incident. The two teams of the CCB have already found his address and reached Chikmagalur, where he hails from. They have started interrogating him.
