Gauri Lankesh murder: Accused has links to radical Hindutva outfits, says report

A 37-year-old man arrested under the Arms Act for illegal possession of ammunition is being questioned in connection with the murder of editor Gauri Lankesh in Bengaluru nearly six months ago, police said on Friday.

"KT Naveen Kumar was taken into custody by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Karnataka Police," SIT Investigating Officer MN Anucheth told IANS here.

Kumar, who hails from Birur town in Chikmagalur district, about 250 km west from Bengaluru, was booked by the city police on February 19 under the Arms Act for illegal possession of 15 bullets of a revolver, Anucheth said.

The man had been remanded in Crime Branch custody, which ended on Friday.

"Based on certain clues provided by him, the SIT took him into custody for further questioning and investigation," he said.

Lankesh, 55, the editor of Kannada paper Gauri Lankesh Patrike, was shot dead outside her residence in a southwestern suburb of Bengaluru by unidentified assailants on September 5 last year by unidentified men. Of the seven bullets fired, three hit Lankesh—two in the chest and one in the forehead.

The state government had set up the SIT to probe the journalist-activist's killing.

The Indian Express on March 2 reported that SIT officials have already questioned Kumar on a few occasions since his arrest on February 18, adding that "Investigations have shown that Kumar is linked to a radical Hindutva outfit called the Hindu Yuva Sena and that he is also allegedly linked to members of the Sanatan Sanstha outfit and its affiliate the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti.”

With IANS inputs.