BENGALURU: With no breakthrough in the blind murder case of the senior journalist and activist Gauri Lankesh even after 14 days, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the murder is now knocking on the doors of reformed dons and notorious rowdies with a hope of getting a clue about the killer of Ms. Lankesh.
The team which is already examining all the angles including right-wing, Naxal and personal rivalry, so far, could not get any solid lead about the bike-borne killer who shot Ms. Lankesh dead at her residence in RR Nagar on September 5.
The SIT officials have questioned Karnataka's famous reformed don Muthappa Rai as well as underworld don-turned-social activist Agni Sridhar on Tuesday to get a lead in Ms. Lankesh murder. The team is mum on the outcome of the inquiry and is keeping all the information confidential.
However, it is learnt that both the reformed dons have told the SIT that they were in no way connected to the murder of Ms. Lankesh. It may be mentioned that a few years ago Muthappa Rai had filed a defamation case at a local court against Ms. Lankesh for writing against him in her tabloid. Rai was among 15 people who had filed defamation cases against Ms. Lankesh. The SIT is also questioning other 14 people and is recording their statements. Besides, the team is also questioning the notorious rowdies in the state to check their involvement and to garner information about the killers. “As of now, we have not ruled out any angle and are checking on all possibilities. We have not got any solid lead so far. As we suspect the killer was a professional contract killer, we are hoping to get a lead through reformed dons, rowdies and rowdy-sheeters,” a police officer, who is part of the SIT told Deccan Chronicle. "We would not be questioning all the rowdy sheeters but only those with notorious backgrounds", he added.
The team on Monday had also questioned the notorious rowdy Mulama besides questioning reformed Naxals lodged at Parappana Agrahara Central Prison in Bengaluru. As the SIT has intensified its investigation following the mounting pressure from the government to nab Ms. Lankesh killer, coming days could see more questioning sessions of famous rowdies as the team has already started summoning them.
