How SIT unearthed a ‘larger conspiracy’
Although the progress in Lankesh probe was initially slow, the SIT widened its chase to uncover a nameless outfit, which it has linked to other murders
A year ago to the day, journalist Gauri Lankesh was entering her house in Bengaluru’s Rajarajeshwari Nagar when she was shot and killed by three unidentified men. A special investigating team (SIT) formed to inquire into the killing has since claimed to have completed its probe, arrested 12 suspects and unearthed a shadowy nameless organisation it has linked to the crime and the murder of three other individuals, all of whom campaigned against superstition.
Lankesh, who was 55 and ran the eponymous Gauri Lankesh Patrike, was a critic of Hindu fundamentalism and backed women’s rights. Interviews with SIT officers and documents submitted in court by the police reveal the plot to kill her had been afoot for a year; the reason why she was targeted were the public comments she made that were perceived to be disrespectful of the Hindu religion, the officials say. It isn’t clear what evidence the investigators have and whether their claims will stand up in court.
Progress in the investigation was initially slow. To be sure, within the first month, detectives claimed the bullets recovered from the scene matched those recovered from the murder scene of scholar MM Kalburgi, shot dead in Karnataka’s Dharwad district on August 30, 2015.
Yet, initial attempts to piece together evidence from the scene of the crime, apart from the bullets, did not yield major breakthroughs. The crime was caught on CCTV cameras placed near the door to Lankesh’s house, but few clues surfaced from the footage. The man who shot Lankesh was wearing a helmet and couldn’t be identified. Attempts to trace phone records in the hope that they would provide clues to the murder led to a dead-end.
SIT then decided to concentrate on more traditional methods of surveillance and chasing all possible angles into the murder, many of which led nowhere.
As pressure mounted from the public, the media and from within the police force, SIT got hold of the first vital intelligence input.
A senior officer, requesting anonymity, said SIT received information in November that a man identified as KT Naveen Kumar had been missing since Lankesh’s murder. Kumar, a native of Maddur in Mandya district, was traced to a village in Chikkamagaluru district, and was put under surveillance.
“We noticed that he was frequenting many coin phone booths. He used as many as 128 coin booths since we began surveillance. We narrowed it down to six booths that he frequented,” the officer said. Intercepting these calls led SIT to confirm Naveen Kumar had information on the Lankesh murder plot. “We also intercepted a call between Naveen and another person that gave us a clue that another murder was being planned,” the officer cited above said.
ARRESTS FOLLOW
This was the alleged plot to kill rationalist writer KS Bhagwan, known for his strong views on Hinduism. “We soon realised that this plot was already underway and reconnaissance had been conducted. For this reason we decided to pick him (Naveen Kumar) up,” the officer said.
Kumar was arrested on February 18 in Bengaluru, allegedly in possession of ammunition that he was about to sell. With this arrest, SIT was able to gather more details of the others suspected of involvement in the plot.
On May 20, the police arrested Sujith Kumar alias Praveen, who they claim was the person liaising with Naveen Kumar from Kolar. “Sujith then led us to the other accused,” the officer said.