Gauri murder: SIT takes custody of Maddur man with 'rightist links'

The Special Investigation Team (SIT), probing the murder of journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh, has taken a 37-year-old man into custody.

Based on a tip-off that a man was in possession of country-made arms and ammunition, Central Crime Branch (CCB) sleuths on February 18, 2018, arrested K T Naveen Kumar, a native of Maddur in Mandya. He was arrested by the CCB team from the Kempegowda bus stand in Majestic. The police had seized 15 rounds of ammunition along with a .32 calibre country-made pistol from him.

The CCB questioned Kumar in detail and found that he had links with right-wing organisations and also he was affiliated with fringe groups from other parts of the country.

The SIT on Friday took Kumar into their custody for nine days to ascertain his involvement in Gauri Lankesh's murder. "Kumar's suspected involvement is not a breakthrough, but a link in the investigation," said a senior police officer adding that "He (Kumar) is a small catch but an effective one. We have taken him into custody based on certain clues and we are in the process of questioning him."

"K T Naveen Kumar has been taken into police custody by the SIT for questioning on Friday," said SIT officer M N Anucheth, who is the Deputy Commissioner of Police, West Division, Bengaluru. He, however, refused to give details.