9. 2017 Gauri Lankesh Murder Case (Bengaluru, Karnataka)

“The right to dissent is being curbed”. Gauri Lankesh was an outspoken left-wing journalist and activist who was allegedly killed for her “anti-Hindu views”. She is one woman who dared to raise her voice against the authorities and was shot down outside her home on the evening of September 5, 2017.

What Really Happened?

On that fateful day, Gauri had returned home from the office and was unlocking her house. Three unidentified men on a bike shot her down around 8 pm and escaped. During investigations, it was identified that around 7 bullets were fired at her which pierced her head, neck, and chest and resulted in death on the spot. From the investigation, it emerged that the organisation behind this assassination has members from Sanathan Sanstha, Hindu Janjagruthi Samithi, and many such “rightist” organisations. CCTV footage of the incident could not catch the registration number of the car. Also, the assassins were wearing dark clothes and helmets which made it more difficult to identify them even with the help of face recognition apps. On September 8, 2017, the Karnataka government even announced a reward of Rs 10 lakhs for providing information about the culprits.

Why the Murder?

Gauri Lankesh was a livewire journalist/activist. She was outspoken, critical of authorities, and did not hesitate to ask the uncomfortable questions when needed. It is alleged that a right-wing organisation considered her stance as anti-Hindu ideology and decided to assassinate her.

What’s the Status Now?

In 2018, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) detained two suspects who were also involved in Maharashtra’s Kalburgi murder case. In June 2018, Parashuram Waghmere confessed to the crime of shooting Lankesh. However, he was not the only one, as there were 18 people involved in her assassination. 16 have been arrested and 2 of them are absconding. The prime accused are Amol Kale (mastermind), Parashuram Waghmere (shooter), Sujith Kumar (recruiter of the murderer), and Ganesh Maskin (bike rider).

Related Link:

Gauri Lankesh: A Woman of Strength