BENGALURU: “How is ‘Amma’ doing? How is her health? I miss her a lot. I want to see her and bring her when you come here the next time,” pleaded Parshuram Waghmare, who allegedly pulled the trigger on journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh, with his father Ashok when they met on Friday. Ashok Waghmare, the father of the 29-year-old main accused in the sensational case, told Deccan Chronicle, “He was with us at home when the officials came and picked him up. We were shell shocked. I got to see my son after almost a week and glad that I met him. He looked fine physically, but seemed depressed.”
Speaking over phone from Sindhagi in Vijayapura district, he said that officials of the Special Investigation Team were cordial to him and his son. “The officers told me to be brave and told me that ‘everything would be okay’.” He said, “It was a relief to see Parshuram. But he was concerned about his mother as she is ill. As soon as I reached home, I told my wife that our son was doing okay. I told her that he was not tortured and that he wanted to meet her. She responded well to it.”
He said, “My son is innocent. He is strong and loves his family. He told me not to worry and specifically asked me to take care of his mother. He asked me about his younger sister and her two children. He is a family boy and we are praying that he comes home soon.” Asked whether he would take his wife to Bengaluru, Ashok said, “I have just come back from Bengaluru. I have promised my son that I will get his mother next time I will go to visit him. It is tentative, but we will go to Bengaluru next week.” Ashok refused to answer when asked whether he suspected his son to have pulled the trigger on Gauri Lankesh on September 5, 2017.
