Bengaluru: A 37-year-old man was arrested on Friday in connection with the murder of Kannada journalist Gauri Lankesh six months ago, police said.
"Naveen Kumar has been arrested by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the case and evidence collected so far confirmed he is an accused in the Gauri Lankesh murder," SIT Investigation Officer M.N. Anucheth said.
He is reportedly linked to the Sanatan Sanstha outfit and its affiliate the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti and hails from Birur town in Chikmagalur district.
Kumar was taken into custody by the SIT on March 2 for questioning after he was booked by the Crime Branch on February 19 under the Arms Act for illegal possession of 15 bullets of a revolver.
A city court on Friday extended Kumar's police custody till March 15.
"In the interest of protecting witnesses and further investigation, we cannot reveal his role in the Gauri Lankesh case at this juncture," Anucheth said.
"Based on certain clues provided by him, the SIT took him into custody for further questioning and investigation," Anucheth had said earlier.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Mumbai: An old video of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, filmed during his tenure as Gujarat Chief Minister in 2012, has gone viral, showing him sharply questioning then-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over border security lapses that allowed terrorists to enter India. The clip is circulating widely on social media in the wake of the recent terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam.
“Where do these terrorists and naxalites get their ammunition? It comes from foreign lands, yet you control our borders—so at least secure them properly,” Modi questioned while addressing a rally at the BJP National Executive Meet in Mumbai. He urged the government to focus on what it could control, specifically stopping the flow of goods from abroad that ultimately arm terrorists.
“Can’t the Prime Minister even supervise the flow of funds that reach terrorists through hawala channels from foreign countries into India?” the then Chief Minister—now Prime Minister—asked in the clip, which has garnered over 100,000 views. He emphasised that this responsibility rested with the Prime Minister.
He went on to ask how, despite the Prime Minister’s authority over coastal security and the Navy, such individuals could still infiltrate the country, insisting that the Prime Minister must address these lapses.
“The Government of India controls all communications, including telephone and email. They can intercept these channels to monitor terrorist use and prevent attacks,” Modi said, adding that he had raised this question with the Prime Minister but had yet to receive an answer.
Netizens were quick to point out what they see as a double standard: the current Prime Minister has neither held a press conference nor taken responsibility for the security lapse since the Pahalgam attack. One user dismissed the discrepancy with “Bipolar disorder,” while another quipped, “Modi is present in all dimensions; he controls parallel universes and questions himself; he has the ability to transform both as interviewer and the interviewee!”
Another commenter contrasted Modi’s record as Chief Minister—when he freely grilled the Prime Minister—with his current approach: asking probing questions then but refusing to field any now.