Gauri Lankesh murder: SIT releases suspects' sketches, video of recce
The SIT chief added that there was no bias in the investigation and they had questioned 200-250 people so far.
Bengaluru: In a major turn of events, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Saturday released the sketches of suspects who may have been involved in the killing of journalist cum activist Gauri Lankesh.
"Based on the infomation, we made sketches. We want people to cooperate and hence we are releasing the sketches," SIT Chief BK Singh said.
He added that there was no bias in the investigation and they had questioned 200-250 people so far.
"There are two suspects. However, two of the sketches are similar because they are made by two artists based on different eyewitness accounts," he added.
The team also released the video screenshot showing the gunman doing a recce of Gauri Lankesh's home exactly four hours before he came back to shoot her dead.
#WATCH CCTV footage of one of the suspects in #GauriLankesh case. Police say, he was conducting recce before the murder. pic.twitter.com/6jfNJjMO5e
— ANI (@ANI) October 14, 2017
"We cannot ascertain religion of suspects by external appearances like tilak or earrings as it would be misleading," he said.
The officer asked the public to reach him on the mobile number: 9480800202, share details on WhatsApp numbers: 9480800304, 9480801701 or e-mail to sit.glankesh@ksp.gov.in.
The SIT chief said the identity of any person giving information leading to the arrest of the accused would be kept confidential.
The person would be "suitably rewarded" as has already been declared by the state government.
The 21-member SIT headed by Inspector General of Police Singh was formed a day after Lankesh was shot dead by unidentified assailants outside her house on September 5.
The SIT scrambled through footage from various private and public CCTV cameras, quizzed many people and collected details from a number of people.
Gauri Lankesh's supporters have since alleged that her killing was the result of a vendetta by right-wing groups like the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) for writing against the group in her tabloid.
Singh further said that the SIT cannot confirm if the weapons used were the same as those in the murder of rationalist MM Kalburgi.
Gauri Lankesh was shot dead on September 5 on the doorstep of her house in Bengaluru.
(With inputs from PTI)