A satellite cable operator who discovered the lifeless body of journalist Gauri Lankesh was grilled by defence lawyers, much to the chagrin of the court, as the trial of the assassination case entered its third day on Wednesday, July 6. The cable operator, Prakash, who was in the vicinity of the Lankesh residence when Gauri was shot on September 5, 2017, was listed as one of the witnesses by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Karnataka police in their chargesheet, which says that 18 men belonging to a Hindutva terror network were behind the hit.
The lawyers appearing for the accused unleashed a barrage of questions at the cable operator and relented only after being ordered to back down by Judge CM Joshi of the special court constituted under the Karnataka Control of Organised Crime Act.
The defence lawyers asked Prakash if he saw any vehicles pass by when he found Gauri’s dead body and also sought to know what he was doing in the vicinity of the murder. When he said that he had been called by one of the residents of the neighbourhood who was having problems with the relay of an English entertainment channel, the lawyers asked him whether it was necessary to physically visit the spot for the repair of a single channel.
Judge Joshi interjected at this point and asked the defence counsel if he was trying to imply that the cable operator was in some way connected to the murder plot. The judge was unconvinced when the lawyer said that it was within the realm of possibility. “You are fishing,” Judge Joshi shot back and said that if they were serious, they should ask vital questions. “Do you want me to ask the questions?” the judge asked following which the defence backed down.
According to the chargesheet filed by the SIT of the Karnataka police, the conspiracy involved 18 men belonging to a secretive group that targeted people they considered “anti-Hindu”. Of them, one person, Vikas Patil alias Dada alias Nihal is still at large.
The SIT investigation found that the plot was hatched by Amol Kale alias Topiwala alias Bhai Saheb, a former leader of the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti which is affiliated with the Sanatan Sanstha. He is alleged to have arranged for the killers to be trained and provided with weapons. The SIT was given a cash award for cracking the case by the state government as well as the Union Home Minister’s medal for excellence for 2019.