Pistol used to kill Gauri Lankesh destroyed

The 7.65 mm pistol used to kill journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh has most likely been destroyed, according to an officer in the Special Investigation Team (SIT).

The move has come as a setback for the SIT which had done well to crack the sensational case by nabbing the alleged assassin, Parashuram Waghmore, in June. The agency’s hard work had also revived the M M Kalburgi murder case as the ballistics report of the bullets fired on Gauri showed the same pistol was used to assassinate the Kannada researcher in his Dharwad home on August 30, 2015.

After killing Gauri on September 5, 2017, Waghmore handed over the weapon to the main conspirator. The firearm was in a good condition and was planned to be used to assassinate four other personalities, including Kannada writer K S Bhagawan. But the wide media coverage of the ballistics report alerted the main conspirator who decided to destroy the pistol, fearing arrest, the officer said, requesting anonymity.

The conspirators later contacted K T Naveen Kumar, the gunrunner from Maddur, Mandya, to supply another weapon before the SIT arrested him in March this year.

But another senior officer maintained that the destruction of the weapon would not affect the prosecution’s case.

Meanwhile, the SIT is hunting for the three main conspirators at whose behest Waghmore allegedly killed Gauri. A total of six sketches have been prepared of the men, on the basis of the descriptions given by Waghmore. The SIT is also tracing the vehicle used by Waghmore and his accomplices to travel to Gauri’s house in western Bengaluru’s Rajarajeshwari Nagar and back.

This apart, the SIT is hunting for Kalburgi’s killer though the case is being seen by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). The SIT has got multiple clues in the Kalburgi case and is sharing all the information with the CID. The CID was on the verge of closing the case when the SIT made the breakthrough.

‘Waghmore was easily brainwashed’

The conspirators behind Gauri’s killing had roped in Waghmore to kill four more personalities, including Bhagawan. Waghmore, seen as susceptible to brainwashing, was asked to be prepared for another task. He believed his handlers so much that he actually celebrated Naveen Kumar’s arrest.

He even told his friends that the police had caught the wrong guy. But he got scared when the SIT caught Sujeet Kumar Alias Praveen, Amol Kale, Amit Degwekar and Manohar Edave in the Gauri case.

No bail to accused Naveen Kumar The 70th City and Sessions Court on Monday rejected the bail application of K T Naveen Kumar, one of the accused in the murder of journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh. Judge Ramalinge Gowda rejected the petition on the grounds that it's a serious case and the investigation is still going on. The accused could destroy evidence and influence witnesses if he is released on bail, the judge noted. During the hearing, M N Anucheth, the chief investigating officer, submitted that Kumar had refused to undergo narcoanalysis after having consented to it before the court. There is sufficient evidence of his involvement in the case, he added.