Gauri Lankesh murder: Basavaraj Sulibhavi demands arrest of Pramod Mutalik
‘Act against saffron terrorism’
Bengaluru/Gadag, June 22: Leader of Committee Against Murder of Rationalists, Basavaraj Sulibhavi said that with the arrest of the accused in the Gauri Lankesh murder, it is proved that the saffron terrorism is active in the country and both centre and state government should act to curb the saffron terrorism in the country.
Speaking to reporters here on Friday, Basavaraj said that the SIT officials have already arrested Parashuram Waghmore of Sri Rama Sene and others in connection with the Gauri Lankesh murder and investigating it. But Pramod Mutalik gave a statement that the Sri Rama Sene has no connection with these murders and all the arrested belonged to RSS. Meanwhile, Sri Rama Sene Vijayapura district president Rakesh Mata posted a request in the social media seeking financial assistance to Parashuram Waghmore and his family. BJP leader Manchaleshwari posted a message in the social media saying that each house will have Parashuram and thus supporting the murder accused. In reality, the SIT officials should identify who is the real culprit in the murder of Gauri Lankesh and other rationalists. So, the SIT should arrest Pramod Mutalik immediately and interrogate him to know the truth, he demanded.
Congratulating the SIT officials for arresting the accused in Gauri Lankesh murder case, Basavaraj urged the government to handover the investigation of scholar Dr MM Kalburgi murder case to SIT instead of CoD. The SIT should disclose about the whereabouts of those behind the accused. It should arrest the leaders of BJP, RSS and Sri Rama Sene and interrogate them, he demanded.
Sharief, Basavaraj Eranna, Yallappa, Vinod and others of the Committee were present at the press conference.
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Gill, Mandhana win top BCCI awards
New Delhi (PTI): Prolific batters Shubman Gill and Smriti Mandhana were named the Best International Cricketers (Men's and Women's) at the BCCI Naman Awards 2026 here on Sunday, recognising their outstanding performances in the 2024–2025 season.
Gill won the prestigious Polly Umrigar Award, while Mandhana received the award for the fifth time.
For Gill, it was his second Cricketer of the Year award after first winning it in 2023.
Former stars Roger Binny, Rahul Dravid and Mithali Raj were honoured with the Col. C. K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award, the BCCI's highest honour, recognising their outstanding service to Indian cricket.
India's five trophy-winning sides (2025 ICC Champions Trophy, 2025 Women's ODI World Cup, 2025 U-19 Women's World Cup, 2026 Men's U-19 World Cup, and 2026 T20 World Cup) were honoured as well on the occasion.
Gill enjoyed a stellar 2025 and established himself as one of the team's most dependable batters in the longer formats.
On the tour of England, skipper Gill led from the front in the five-Test series, finishing as the top run-getter with 754 runs in 10 innings at an average of 75.40, including four centuries and a top score of 269.
Gill also played a pivotal role in India's Champions Trophy triumph last year, having entered the tournament as the No.1-ranked ODI batter in the world. He made an unbeaten 101 against Bangladesh in India's opening match, and finished the tournament with 188 runs.
Mandhana finished 2025 with 1,703 international runs, including 1,362 in ODIs, the most by any woman in a calendar year. In doing so, Mandhana became the first batter in women's ODI history to score 1,000 runs in a single calendar year.
Mandhana also made handsome contributions to India's maiden Women's World Cup title triumph, aggregating 434 runs in nine matches to end as the tournament as India's leading run-scorer and the second-highest overall.
Before the World Cup, the left-hander Mandhana smashed a 50-ball century against Australia in New Delhi to register the fastest ODI hundred by an Indian batter, surpassing Virat Kohli's 52-ball effort.
Shafali Varma (Best Woman Cricketer Senior Domestic One-Day), Ira Jadhav (Best Woman Cricketer (Domestic), Harsh Dubey (Best All Rounder in the Ranji Trophy), and Ayush Mhatre (Best All Rounder in Domestic Limited Overs Competitions) too won awards for their strong performances across the 2024-25 domestic season.
