Gauri murder case: SIT submits details in sealed cover to court
Bengaluru: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing Gauri Lankesh murder claimed knowledge of a “larger conspiracy” behind the murder and submitted related details with names of other suspects to the court in a sealed cover on Friday.
A massive manhunt has been launched to nab these suspects, along with one Praveen, who was named as an accused in the court based on inputs given by K.T. Naveen Kumar who has been arrested in the case.
To a specific question by the judge whether Naveen was the main accused, assistant public prosecutor Nirmal Rani said, “The main accused are yet to be arrested and the details have been submitted in a sealed cover.” A senior SIT official said Naveen was indeed in knowledge of the conspiracy and “aided and assisted its execution”, but in a “peripheral role”.
The SIT has sought permission of the court to conduct of neuro-psychological assessment tests — narco analysis, polygraph (called the lie detector test) and brain electrical oscillation signature profiling (brain mapping) — on Naveen Kumar.
“While the accused has revealed some information, he has also been concealing a lot. So these tests are necessary,” assistant public prosecutor Nirmal Rani told the court.
SIT sources also said TH that they had sent voice samples of Naveen to the FSL, Madiwala, to be matched with some of the audio recordings they had of Naveen during surveillance. They have also sent visuals of the reconstruction of a recce of Gauri’s house to be matched with visual of CCTV camera footage showing a man doing a recce of the house on September 3 and 5, 2017.
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London, Nov 22: A bomb disposal squad deployed as a “precaution” to the South Terminal of Gatwick Airport concluded an investigation into a "security incident" on Friday after making a “suspect package” safe.
The South Terminal of Gatwick Airport, the UK's second busiest airport after Heathrow, which was briefly shut owing to the incident reopened following the incident.
The Gatwick is around 45 km south of London.
Two people detained during the enquiries have since been allowed to continue their journey as the airport was opened.
“Police have concluded their investigation into a report of a suspect package at Gatwick Airport. Officers from the EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) team made the package safe, and the airport has been handed back to its operator,” Sussex Police said in an updated statement.
“Two people detained while enquiries were ongoing have subsequently been allowed to continue their journeys. There will remain an increased police presence in the area to assist with passengers accessing the South Terminal for onward travel,” the statement added.
Earlier on Friday, the incident caused severe disruption at the busy airport’s South Terminal, while the North Terminal of Gatwick Airport remained unaffected.
“Police were called to the South Terminal at Gatwick Airport at 8.20 am on Friday (November 22) following the discovery of a suspected prohibited item in luggage,” a Sussex Police statement said.
“To ensure the safety of the public, staff and other airport users, a security cordon has been put in place whilst the matter is dealt with. As a precaution, an EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) team is being deployed to the airport. This is causing significant disruption and some roads around the South Terminal have been closed. We’d advise the public to avoid the area where possible,” it said.
Footage on social media taken outside the airport showed crowds of frustrated travellers being moved away from the terminal building.
Gatwick said it was working hard to resolve the issue.
“A large part of the South Terminal has been evacuated as a precaution while we continue to investigate a security incident," the airport said in a social media post.
“Passengers will not be able to enter the South Terminal while this is ongoing. The safety and security of our passengers and staff remain our top priority. We are working hard to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.”
Train and bus services that serve the airport were also impacted while the police carried out their inquiries.
In an unrelated incident in south London on Friday morning, the US Embassy area in Nine Elms by the River Thames was the scene of a controlled explosion by Scotland Yard dealing with what they believe may have been a “hoax device”.
“We can confirm the 'loud bang' reported in the area a short time ago was a controlled explosion carried out by officers,” the Metropolitan Police said in a post on X.
“Initial indications are that the item was a hoax device. An investigation will now follow. Some cordons will remain in place for the time being but the majority of the police response will now be stood down,” it added.
