Activist and senior journalist Gauri Lankesh’s murder on Tuesday night has left the media fraternity in shock and dismay. As protests are being organised across Indian cities against the killing, investigations are underway to identify the men who shot her.
Footage from two CCTV cameras found in the vicinity of the house – one in front of the house and one at the door of the house – have been sent for analysis. Reports on Wednesday afternoon revealed that footage from a total of 33 CCTV cameras around in the scene of crime are being analysed.
It is suspected that there were three persons on two scooters who arrived at the spot. They shot Gauri at point blank range. The police had found four metal casings of bullets at the scene of crime on Tuesday night.
Karnataka Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy had told the media on Tuesday that Gauri’s neighbour had heard some cracker like sounds (like gunshots) in the evening. When the neighbour went to see what happened, Gauri lay dead on the ground. The neighbour also said they heard the sound of two scooters.
Bengaluru police commissioner Suneel Kumar told TNM on Wednesday that they were still going through the CCTV footage. “The lighting was dim. We are unable to specifically identify who it was yet. We have got reports from people on the spot that they saw two men on a scooter riding up and down the road. We are still investigating,” he said.
Gauri’s body has also been taken for post-mortem.
Many media personalities and politicians have expressed shock and grief over Gauri’s murder since Tuesday night. While Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah condemned the crime, Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan called the killing ‘undemocratic’. “It is undemocratic that you eliminate people who raise their voices against you. If it has happened in Karnataka today, it could happen anywhere tomorrow. It will be the end of democracy if people do not have the right to express,” Pinarayi wrote in a Facebook post.
Many also drew the parallel between the murders of other writers and rationalists’ murders like Dabholkar, Pansare and MM Kalburgi. Gauri was known for being outspoken and a staunch critic of right wing Hindutva politics.
This copy has been updated.