JOIN USThe Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the Gauri Lankesh murder has arrested a 26-year-old man from Sindagi in Vijayapura district who is suspected to have pulled the trigger to kill the senior journalist on September 5, 2017.
The suspect Parshuram Waghmore was produced before the III Additional Chief Magistrate Court on Tuesday. The court remanded him in 14 days’ police custody till June 24, following a submission by the SIT officials.
With this, the number of arrests in the case has reached six. K T Naveen Kumar from Maddur who was first arrested in the case on March 3, is in judicial custody and the other four accused Amol Kale alias Bhaisab from Maharashtra, Manohar Edave from Vijayapura, Sujeet Kumar alias Praveen from Shikaripur and Amit Degwekar alias Pradeep, from Goa have been in SIT custody since May 31.
Sources in the SIT said that during the interrogation of the arrested accused, Waghmore’s role in the case came to light. He was arrested after long monitoring and investigations. He is running a mobile phone shop and a browsing centre in
Sindagi.
The FSL experts, after analysing the CCTV footage at Gauri’s house, concluded that the iron gate at Gauri’s house is five feet high and Gauri was 5 ft 4 inches tall. The killer was taller than the gate but shorter than Gauri and weighed around 70 to 80 kg. Sources further added that Waghmore is 5 ft 1 inch tall and weighed more than 60 kg. He was wearing puffer jacket to look stouter to hide his identity and mislead the investigation.
Sources said Waghmore was an active member of a Hindu outfit and was earlier accused of hoisting a Pakistan flag on the tahsildar’s office in Sindagi to trigger communal tension on January 1, 2012. Police arrested all the culprits within a fortnight but the case was dismissed due to lack of evidence.
2nd arrest from Vijayapura
Parshuram Waghmore’s arrest is the second from Vijayapura district in a month in the Gauri Lankesh murder case after Manohar Edave (30).
Meanwhile, founder president of Sri Rama Sene Pramod Muthalik on Tuesday said innocent members of Hindu organisations had made accused in many bomb blasts cases but were later acquitted. He asked the SIT to conduct a fair probe into the Gauri killing case.
Hindu Janajagruti Samiti on Tuesday released a report where K T Naveen Kumar, a suspect in the Gauri murder case had refused to undergo a narco test. However, chief investigation officer of SIT M N Anucheth said the HJS had released only half of the report.