Bengaluru: It’s close to 50 days since journalist and activist Gauri Lankesh was murdered and it appears that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the case has lost all hope. Substantially, the team that had close to 200 members has now shrunk to 50.
SIT sources said that that the officers, who were roped in to the SIT from various police stations and other police units from across the state to crack the high-profile case, have been asked to go back to their original postings.
“They have been directed to go back and will be called back if required. The decision was taken as we investigated all angles but yet we could not arrive at a conclusion. As work will be pending at places where they were working and as there are no signs of cracking the case anytime soon, we did not want to hold them for long,” an official said.
The SIT that started the probe with around 25 policemen had swollen to 100 within a few days and close to 200 within 2-3 weeks. Senior officials had called in those officers who were experienced in handling complicated and blind cases.
But none of their efforts paid off as Gauri Lankesh’s murderers have not left any clues for the police to chase.
Meanwhile, after its release of the sketches of probable assassins drew a blank, the SIT now hopes that questioning gun suppliers in the grey market, especially in the Karnataka-Maharashtra border, could provide them a crucial lead.
With the gun culture mushrooming in the Vijayapura, Bidar, Belagavi and Kalaburagi districts and last week’s recovery of 20 country-made pistols with 49 rounds from 12 people in Vijayapura district alone, the SIT has shifted its focus to these areas.
They feel keeping tabs on gun suppliers, agents and clients of bordering districts could provide clues.
