Bengaluru: The late journalist and activist Gauri Lankesh reportedly came under the radar of her assailants somewhere in the middle of last year for her vociferous and anti-Right views, said sources on condition of anonymity.
Gauri was shot dead by two unknown motor-bike borne assailants outside her house in the city on September 5. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) had earlier released the sketches of the two assailants.
According to sources, the SIT is reportedly inching “close” towards cracking the sensational murder case and has reportedly a “fair idea” of the core team, which may be involved in the conspiracy and murder of Gauri. “The SIT is on the right track. They need to piece the evidence together, which they have collected so far and hunt for that crucial ‘link’ between the conspirators and the crime,” said the source.
It is learnt the SIT has taken Naveen Kumar, who has been arrested in the Gauri murder case, to Belagavi and Goa, where the murder conspiracy was reportedly hatched. “He has not revealed much to the SIT, but they have some definite clues on the people who could be behind the cold-blooded murder. There are more persons of interest, including one Praveen, who are under the radar and are being closely monitored by the SIT.
The field of investigation in the Gauri murder case spans from Bengaluru, Mandya, coastal and North Karnataka to Maharashtra and Goa. The team is working in cooperation with the Maharashtra and Goa police. The SIT has carefully handpicked those, who are well versed in Marathi, Konkani and Tulu besides Kannada to merge with the local people and source credible ground information,” said an official source.
