The senior journalist was shot in cold blood at her Bengaluru residence: File photo.Bengaluru: Bengaluru: The Karnataka government on Wednesday decided to form a Special Investigation Team to probe the killing of senior journalist and activist Gauri Lankesh.
Briefing reporters after a meeting with top police officials and state home minister Ramalinga Reddy, chief minister Siddaramaiah said the SIT would be headed by an officer of the inspector general rank.
He said the state government was firm on tracking down the culprits at the earliest, and directed the director general of police to form the SIT. The chief minister said the murder was an organized crime. He said the police have been instructed to provide protection to activists propagating progressive thoughts.
He added that the police were questioning two people who had posted something on Facebook against Gauri.
Meanwhile, reports said the police have spotted one of the killers in the CCTV footage. “He is seen in what looks like a helmet and black clothes,” a police source told a TV channel.
"The CCTV camera (on the premises) has captured the whole incident... I am very confident that the culprits will be caught soon," Indrajit Lankesh, Gauri's brother and a filmmaker told reporters according to new agency PTI.
Union home minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday instructed home secretary to seek a report on the murder from Karnataka government.
CCTV footage crucial
Sections of the media reported that the involvement of professional killers is being suspected in the murder and there could be leads waiting in a password protected CCTV camera, in whose range Gauri was shot.
"The three special teams set up to crack the case are on the lookout for the suspected assailants. We are taking the movements of people and vehicles at check posts and inter-state borders," Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) M.N. Anucheth told IANS here.
"We have alerted our counterparts in the neighboring states of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu as well," said Anucheth.
Earlier the police and the administration had denied receiving any complaints on a serious threat to her life. Lankesh, 55, was shot dead by three unidentified men who had fired a total of seven bullets towards her when she returned home from her office in the city.
"Of the seven fired, four missed the target and hit the wall of the house. Three bullets had hit her -- two in her chest area and one in the forehead," Bengaluru Police Commissioner T. Suneel Kumar had told reporters Tuesday night.
Will be laid to rest in Bengaluru
The last rites of senior Kannada weekly tabloid editor and social activist Gauri Lankesh, who was shot dead the night before, will be conducted on Wednesday in Bengaluru, her family said.
"Gauri's last rites will be held at Chamrajpet Cemetery in the city," her brother Indrajit Lankesh told reporters here Wednesday at the Victoria Hospital, where her post-mortem was being conducted.
"Her mortal remains will be kept at Samsa Bayalu Rangamandira (an open air theatre) for public viewing," Lankesh said. "Gauri's eyes were donated as per her wish," he said.
He also expressed confidence in the probe: "Investigations have been going on since last night. I'm very confident that the killers would be caught soon," Lankesh said.
Condemnations flow in
Journalists and politicians across the country have come out demanding action in the incident when the valiant editor of 'Lankesh Patrika', was killed in cold blood.
Tuesday, the state home minister had said that the teams were working on unearthing leads into the murder and that there were no CCTV cameras. Law minister T B Jayachandra responded to the murder saying that the possibility of similarities with the murder of rationalist M.M. Kalburgi cannot be ruled out.
Union minister Smriti Irani also tweeted condemning the murder adding that she hoped justice would be delivered quickly.
Read more at: Latest in National news | Anti-establishment, anti-Hindutva, pro-dalit: who was Gauri Lankesh?
