Gauri Lankesh murder: There was no threat perception, say police

Bengaluru: The exact timing of her death has reportedly not been ascertained because of the time lapse between the incident, which was between 7.45 pm- 8pm on Tuesday and the post mortem, which was conducted at Victoria Hospital at around 10am on Wednesday.

No threat perception, say police: Contrary to what has been claimed by the slain journalist's grief-stricken mother to whom Gauri had confided, police sources said that Gauri was not under any kind of perceived threat nor did her name figure in any security audit that is periodically conducted by police and Intelligence agencies on important public figures. Though she was instrumental in the surrender and rehabilitation of several left-wing extremists and was on the State committee on the sensitive matter, she was not found vulnerable to attack by any of the State agencies.

SIT: Official sources said  “the police are looking into all possible theories behind the sensational murder; of her alleged involvement in any property dispute within the family or outside, whether Gauri’s involvement in the surrender of Naxalites had triggered any violent reaction from those who are still in the outlawed movement and felt threatened by their comrades, who have laid down arms with her assistance."

" The third possibility is that she may have been done in by an extremist Right wing ideologue for her openly aired views against Hindutva forces in her writings and on social media. She along with other writers had opposed the arrest of Kannada novelist Yogesh Master in 2013 for his controversial book ‘Dhundi’ in which he had portrayed Lord Ganesha in poor light,” said the officer.

Security audit: After Professor M.M. Kalburgi’s assassination on August 30, 2015 in his house in Dharwad, police had carried out a security audit of some important writers and rationalists in the State and had requested those including noted playwright and litterateur Girish Karnad, S.K. Bhagwan in Mysuru and another writer in Tumkaru, who were perceived to be vulnerable targets to take police protection. They had refused police cover. "Gauri was not found to be in the alleged hit list of any anti-social organization. She also never approached the police for security cover,” said an official source.