Gauri's assassins also tracked rationalist Narendra Nayak
Mangaluru: The group accused of murdering journalist Gauri Lankesh also watched the activities of Prof. Narendra Nayak of Mangaluru, the president of Federation of Indian Rationalist Associations, and identified him as a target, reported The Indian Express.
Rajesh Bangera (50), one of the accused in the Gauri murder case, had tracked the movements of Narendra Nayak in Mangaluru for two days in 2016, says SIT in its report to the court.
Bangera, allegedly the arms trainer of the group, trained four youths namely Mohan, Yathin, Yathish and Kumud to use guns before the surveillance began, the police alleged.
A diary recovered from main accused in the Lankesh case, Amol Kale, lists Mysuru's rationalist thinker Prof K S Bhagwan, Mangaluru's rationalist Prof. Narendra Nayak, Swami Nijuguanand and Bengaluru's playwright Girish Karnad as “targets.”
It is also alleged that the diary had listed the names, in code words, of those who would carry out the murders. After assassinating Lankesh, the group had planned to assassin Prof. Bhagwan in Mysore in February 2018. However, the SIT probe in the Lankesh murder achieved a breakthrough, resulting in disruption of the plan.
The police have registered a separate case against seven of the 18 persons accused in the Lankesh murder case on the charges of plotting to murder Prof. Bhagwan.
In its chargesheet, the SIT has documented the finding of 16 bundles of copies of Sanatan Prabhat, the mouthpiece of Sanatan Sanstha, at the home of Bangera after his arrest.
The SIT has filed a 9,235-page chargesheet against 18 persons in the Lankesh case. Of them, 16 arrested and two are still on large.
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Lebanon appoints new representative for talks with Israel, rejects linkage to Iran
Beirut: Lebanon’s has moved to underline its independent position in ongoing regional developments, amid attempts to link the country to the broader conflict involving Iran, the United States and Israel.
President Joseph Aoun, while announcing the appointment of former US ambassador Simon Karam as Lebanon’s representative in talks with Israel, made it clear that Karam would be the sole representative for Lebanon and that there would be no substitute.
The move comes in response to what the Lebanese officials see as efforts by Iran to tie Lebanon’s situation to the wider regional conflict. Iran had indicated that there would be no ceasefire involving the US, Israel and Iran unless it also included a ceasefire in Lebanon.
Some groups, including Hezbollah and its supporters, had expressed support for linking the situations, citing concerns that the Lebanese government has limited leverage in negotiations with Israel. Lebanon is not formally a party to the conflict, and its army is considered weak.
However, others, including Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, have opposed this approach. They view Iran’s stance as an attempt to influence Lebanon’s internal affairs and see it as undermining the country’s sovereignty.
Officials backing the government’s position say the move is aimed at reaffirming Lebanon’s sovereignty and ensuring that decisions about peace and ceasefire within the country are not dictated externally.
They also see it as a safeguard, so that any breakdown in talks between the US, Israel and Iran does not automatically lead to renewed conflict in Lebanon.
