Gauri Lankesh murder case: Maharashtra accused ‘pops up’ in footage
Maharashtra, August 26: The SIT now believes Gondhalekar, the owner of a design firm, was one of the “key persons” in the Lankesh murder. Sources said that 10 days after the killing, he had returned to Bengaluru to retrieve the guns used in the murder.
The Karnataka Police claims to have found that one of those arrested by the Maharashtra ATS in connection with plotting terror attacks in the state was present in the vicinity of journalist Gauri Lankesh’s home on the day she was murdered, nearly a year ago. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Karnataka Police, probing the September 5, 2017, murder, recently returned to CCTV footage from cameras located near Lankesh’s home, in Rajarajeshwari Nagar area of Bengaluru, and reportedly found that a man resembling Sudhanva Gondhalekar was present there four hours before the killing.
Gondhalekar, 39, was arrested by the Maharashtra ATS on August 10. Believed to be associated with the radical right-wing Shri Shivpratishthan Hindustan and the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti (HJS, an affiliate of the Sanatan Sanstha), Gondhalekar’s role is being investigated by the ATS in an alleged plot to carry out blasts in five Maharashtra cities. Confirming CCTV footage showing a person resembling Gondhalekar, an SIT official said, “We have sent it for analysis.” The SIT is likely to seek custody of Gondhalekar when his police custody in Maharashtra comes to an end. The SIT believes Gondhalekar and possibly an accomplice made a round of Lankesh’s home to ensure that the murder plan was on track, since a previous attempt to kill the journalist days earlier had failed.
The SIT now believes Gondhalekar, the owner of a design firm, was one of the “key persons” in the Lankesh murder. Sources said that 10 days after the killing, he had returned to Bengaluru to retrieve the guns used in the murder. These are alleged to have been stashed in a safe house, said to have been provided by a civil contractor from the Kunigal region of Karnataka, H L Suresh. The latter, also an activist of the HJS, is described as a “seeker” in a 2008 article by the HJS on a series of anti-terrorism exhibitions conducted by it, and is under arrest.
The SIT believes Gondhalekar was also closely associated with Amol Kale, 37, a Pune-based former HJS convenor, who is alleged to be the head of the covert group that carried out Lankesh’s murder. Kale was arrested on May 31, and the SIT claims to have found links between him and Gondhalekar through call records of Kale. Gondhalekar reportedly also appears in a diary Kale maintained, often in code, on the operations he was carrying out in Karnataka. SIT sources said Gondhalekar was referred to as “Pandey” and “Gujjar” in Kale’s diary and during his communications with gang members.
Gondhalekar could lead investigators to two guns reportedly used by the group to carry out four murders since 2013, sources said, including Lankesh’s. The SIT is hoping that the 7.65 mm country-made pistol used to kill the journalist could be part of the arms allegedly stockpiled by Gondhalekar, as claimed by the Maharashtra ATS. In a press release on August 11, the ATS had said it had seized 16 country-made pistols from multiple locations on the basis of Gondhalekar’s confession. Gondhalekar may have also provided shelter to another key suspect in the Lankesh murder case, Sujeet Kumar alias Praveen, 38, in Satara, at a friend’s place. Police had been looking for Sujeet, a former HJS activist, after making the first arrest in the murder case, of K T Naveen Kumar, in March this year. Sujeet is also under arrest now.
Courtesy: indianexpress.com
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CM Siddaramaiah echoes Rahul’s views on ‘electoral fraud’, ‘voter list manipulation’
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has echoed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s allegations of large-scale electoral misconduct by the BJP, accusing the ruling party at the Centre of manipulating voter lists and undermining democratic institutions, including the Election Commission of India.
In an interview with PTI Videos, Siddaramaiah said Rahul Gandhi was telling the truth when he alleged that genuine voters were being removed from electoral rolls while fake names were being added.
"Such things have happened in Maharashtra, Haryana, and Karnataka," he claimed and expressed his apprehension, "they are planning to do it in Bihar also".
The Chief Minister accused the BJP of mischief and alleged that this manipulation was happening across the country.
He came down heavily on the Election Commission, saying it is no longer functioning as an independent constitutional body.
"The Election Commission is working under the direction of the central government. It’s not independent. Election Commission has to function independently and fairly, but it is not doing so," the Chief Minister said.
Declaring that democracy is under threat, Siddaramaiah announced that the Congress would launch a nationwide campaign to expose these alleged irregularities and demand reforms to protect the integrity of the electoral process.
Siddaramaiah also reiterated the importance of conducting a nationwide caste census.
"Every state should start conducting the caste census. It should be socio-economic, educational, employment-based, and political. Because everybody should know, after independence, what is the status of an individual — economically, politically — and whether independence has reached everyone or not, whether equality has come or not," CM has insisted.
The purpose of the Constitution is to bring about change and remove inequality, he underlined.
He also clarified that he is not the convenor of the OBC advisory committee but only a member under Anil Jaihind’s leadership.
Regarding Karnataka’s own caste census, he said that authorities have been given a three-month time to complete the process and expressed hope that they will meet the deadline.
Regarding the alleged site allotment scam in Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA), Siddaramaiah said, "It is a false case. They torture me, my wife, and my family unnecessarily. Though this does not come under the PMLA Act — there is no money laundering — unnecessarily, they harassed me and my family," he complained.
Welcoming the Supreme Court’s strong remarks, CM said, "It looks like the court has rightly said that if you want to do politics, do it in elections, not here. Not in this case, not through the ED. This is the warning of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court to the BJP," Siddaramaiah said.
Speaking on the June 4 stadium stampede that killed 11 people, Siddaramaiah said the Cabinet has accepted the enquiry report submitted by retired High Court judge Justice Michael D’Cunha.
"Criminal cases have already been registered against the officials of Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and DNA (the event management agency), apart from police personnel," he said.
"Additionally, an inquiry will be conducted against the police officers concerned," he added.
