Gauri Lankesh murder case: Seized diary shows two hitlists, Lankesh was Number 2 on one
Bengaluru : THE NAME of Gauri Lankesh was No. 2 on one of two lists with a total of 34 names, who were marked in 2016 for murder in a diary recovered from a key suspect linked to a radical Hindutva group, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Karnataka Police has found. Lankesh was shot dead outside her house a year later, on September 5, 2017.
All the other persons based in Karnataka named in the diary, including theatre legend Girish Karnad whose name was No. 1 on the Lankesh list, have been provided state security. A majority of names from the two lists are from Karnataka and Maharashtra, sources told The Indian Express, adding that security agencies in other states have been alerted.
The diary was among documents found in the possession of Amol Kale, 37, a resident of Pune and a former convenor of the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti (HJS). It shows that the name of Lankesh and 33 others from all over India were drawn up allegedly by the suspect in August 2016.
Kale is suspected to be a key figure in a covert unit linked to the Sanatan Sanstha and its affiliate, the HJS. He was arrested from the Davangere region of Karnataka on May 21 and has been identified by the SIT probing the Lankesh murder as the head of operations of the group that killed her.
The probe has also found that the 55-year-old journalist activist, like the others on the list, was chosen as a target for the strong stance she took against radical Hindutva in her speeches and articles over the years.
In documents validating the seizures made following the arrest of Kale and filed in a court in Bengaluru, the SIT has stated that a sheet with eight names in English — including Nidumamidi Swamiji, a seer opposed to superstition, at No. 8 — were found in the diary in Kale’s possession.
The documents also state that a second list of 26 names was found in another page of the diary with the dateline August 22, 2016. The SIT suspects that the two lists, comprising the names of 34 persons known to be opponents of radical Hindutva, were drawn up by Kale in consultation with others. The diary was found to have been printed in July 2016.
“These lists were some kind of tentative collection of names compiled at the end of discussions by a small group of people. They seem to be random lists which would undergo changes. Though Lankesh was named at No. 2, she was targeted first,’’ police sources said.
The SIT investigation has revealed that Kale deployed 26-year-old Parashuram Waghmare from the Vijayapura region in north Karnataka, whom he recruited and trained using the radical network of Sanatan Sanstha and HJS in Karnataka and Maharashtra, to kill Lankesh.
The SIT suspects that the execution of the plot began around eight months prior to the murder with one of the suspects identifying Lankesh’s house and carrying out a preliminary recce.
The plot gathered momentum in June 2017, the SIT has indicated in court documents. “In June 2017, Amol Kale alias Bhaisaab and Dada (a missing suspect) summoned the accused Manohar Edave alias Manoj to the Sweekar Hotel in Belgaum and told him to study the movements and routine of Gauri Lankesh who had been criticizing the Hindu religion,’’ the SIT stated in a May 31 remand plea in court.
The SIT probe found that Kale and the four others arrested began plotting the murder of Kannada writer and academic Prof K S Bhagwan in Mysuru two months after the execution of the plot to kill Lankesh.
Bhagwan’s name is among those found in Kale’s diary. Among the others on the lists are Kannada writers, Yogesh Master, Chandrashekhar Patil and Banajagere Jayaprakash, and former Karnataka backward castes commission chairman C S Dwarkanath.
Several of them, including Karnad, were provided protection soon after the murder of Lankesh. Jayaprakash, Bhagwan, Patil and Yogesh are among the literary personalities, apart from Baragur Ramachandrappa, Patil Putappa, Chennaveera Kanavi and Nataraj Huliyar, who have been provided state protection. Security cover has also been provided to Narendra Nayak, the rationalist, and S M Jamdar, the former IAS officer and proponent of a separate religion status for the Lingayat community.
The diary entries of Kale and an associate Sujeet Kumar, 38, a former activist of the HJS from Karnataka, have revealed that a covert network of nearly 30 Hindutva activists was assembled in the state to carry out subversive activities.
The SIT has so far arrested nine persons allegedly involved in the murder, including alleged shooter Waghmare. On Monday, it arrested a 27-year-old man from Hubli, Ganesh Miskin, who allegedly took Waghmare to Lankesh’s residence on a motorcycle. It also arrested another Hubbali resident, 28-year-old Amit Baddi, who allegedly drove one of the two cars used to support the operation.
courtesy : indianexpress.com
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
