LANKESH PROBE LEADS POLICE TO ANOTHER MURDER PLOT

BENGALURU: The special investigation team (SIT) probing the murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh has discovered a plot to murder Mysuru-based writer KS Bhagwan, known for his rationalist views, according to an officer associated with the case.

The SIT achieved a lead in the Lankesh murder case after it got custody of KT Naveen Kumar, an illegal arms dealer from Mandya district, last week. According to the officer, Kumar played a ‘minor’ role in Lankesh’s murder but did not share details his alleged involvement.

“Questioning Kumar has led to discovery of a plot to kill Bhagwan,” said the officer, who did not want to be named. “An investigation is underway.”

Bhagwan had received as many as 20 such calls in September 2015. The calls stopped after he registered a police complaints with the police.

Asked about the discovery of a plot targeting him, the writer replied, "As a citizen of this country, I have tried to follow the Constitution that makes it our fundamental duty to promote a scientific temper.”

In the immediate aftermath of Lankesh's murder, the state government had provided security to all rationalist thinkers in the state, including Bhagwan. "The security has been increased in light of this threat," he said .

This is not the first murder plot the SIT has stumbled upon in its quest to nab Lankesh's killers. While cracking down on illegal arms traders, the SIT had similarly found the case of a tabloid editor allegedly giving a contract to get one of his colleagues killed.