Gauri murder case: Suspect was regular at Sanatan Sanstha, Hindu Janajagruti meetings
Bengaluru: The Hindutva extremist arrested in connection with the murder of journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh attended at least five different meetings of the Sanatan Sanstha and its affiliate, the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti (HJS), last year in Bengaluru and Maddur in Karnataka, and Ponda in Goa, investigations have found.
On March 2 this year, the Special Investigation Team probing the murder arrested 37-year-old K T Naveen Kumar, who belongs to Maddur in south Karnataka’s Mandya district, after investigations revealed that he played a crucial role in the planning and execution of the murder by spying on Lankesh and guiding her killers.
To substantiate Naveen Kumar’s role in the murder, the SIT had presented to a magistrate’s court in Bengaluru a voluntary statement given by him ahead of his arrest. The SIT is currently investigating the larger conspiracy behind the killing, and Naveen Kumar’s association with the Sanatan Sanstha and the HJS. Rogue elements from these groups have been linked to the murders of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar, and the Leftist thinker Govind Pansare, in Maharashtra in 2013 and 2015 respectively.
A digital trail on social media and the Internet shows Naveen Kumar attended at least five meetings of various sizes organised by the HJS and Sanatan Sanstha at various places in 2017 to discuss, among other things, the establishment of a Hindu Rashtra in India.
Kumar, who was the Maddur president of the Hindu Yuva Sena, was present at the HJS’s first-ever meeting in that town in March 2017. Kumar gathered over 40 youths for the meeting, which was held on the rooftop of a building in Maddur, and was addressed by the HJS’s Karnataka spokesperson, Mohan Gowda.
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3.7 magnitude tremor hits Kutch in Gujarat; no casualty
Ahmedabad (PTI): A tremor of 3.7 magnitude jolted Gujarat's Kutch district on Monday morning, the Institute of Seismological Research (ISR) said.
There was no report of any casualty or damage to property, the district administration said.
The tremor was recorded at 10.44 am with its epicentre 76 kilometres north-north east of Lakhpat, the Gandhinagar-based ISR said.
This is the second seismic activity of more than 3 magnitude this month in the district.
On December 7, a tremor of 3.2 magnitude was recorded in the district, according to the ISR.
Last month, Kutch recorded an earthquake of 4 magnitude on November 18.
Earlier, on November 15, Patan in north Gujarat was jolted by an earthquake of 4.2 magnitude, as per the ISR data.
Gujarat is a high earthquake-risk area.
It suffered nine major earthquakes in the past 200 years, according to data of the Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority (GSDMA).
The earthquake in Kutch on January 26, 2001 was the third largest and second most destructive in India over the last two centuries, according to the GSDMA.
A large number of towns and villages in the district had suffered almost complete destruction in the earthquake, which killed nearly 13,800 persons and left 1.67 lakh others injured.
