Three more witnesses examined in Gauri Lankesh murder trial
Bengaluru, Aug 11: Three more witnesses, including two policemen, were examined in the Gauri Lankesh murder trial at the special court for Karnataka Control of Organised Crime on Thursday. Trial Judge CM Joshi presided over the trial.
Police inspector Shiva Reddy, who arrived at the murder scene was examined by the special public prosecutor and also questioned by the defence.
Reddy took Parashuram Waghmore, the accused shooter who pulled the trigger on Gauri Lankesh to the crime scene after his arrest in 2018.
A jacket and shoes similar to the ones Waghmore had allegedly used was purchased to recreate the crime scene. The defence in its cross examination questioned the absence of bills for these purchase.
The inspector had received an anonymous call from a phone booth informing him about the murder. He had collected CCTV footage from four apartments and a hospital from around the crime scene.
The second witness who was examined on Thursday was VN Kalageri, assistant engineer, Public Works Department. He was the one who drew the map of the crime scene for the police investigation.
The defence in its cross examination, questioned whether Kalageri had really visited the crime scene.
The third witness, Vinod Kumar, a constable was also examined as witness.
Gauri Lankesh was murdered outside her Rajarajeshwarinagar home on September 5, 2017.
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11k litres of milk poured into Narmada river after religious event; environmentalists see red
Sehore (PTI): Around 11,000 litres of milk were poured into Narmada river, often called the lifeline of Madhya Pradesh, in Sehore district on the culmination of a 21-day religious event as part of a sanctification ritual, prompting environmentalists to flag its negative impact on the ecosystem.
The event concluded at Satdev village in Bherunda area, located about 90 km from the district headquarters, with a 'mahayagna' on Wednesday.
The milk was offered to the river as part of rituals and prayers for the purity of the waters, the well-being of pilgrims and prosperity, organisers said.
The milk was brought in tankers to the riverbank and later poured into the flowing water amid chanting of mantras in the presence of a crowd of devotees.
However, environmentalists raised concerns over the practice, warning of its potential ecological impact.
"Such large quantities of organic matter can deplete dissolved oxygen in water, adversely affecting the river ecosystem. These impact local communities dependent on the river for drinking water and threaten aquatic life as well as domestic animals," noted environmentalist and wildlife activist Ajay Dube said.
Religious offerings should be symbolic and mindful, he asserted.
Renowned environmentalist Subhash Pandey said 11,000 litres of milk acts as a significant organic pollutant.
"It is highly oxygen-demanding and can lead to oxygen depletion, aquatic mortality, eutrophication (process of plants growing on river surface) and loss of potability. These effects are predictable from dairy-effluent chemistry and have been documented in similar incidents worldwide," Pandey pointed out.
Narmada originates at Amarkantak in the state and traverses 1,312 km westward to Maharashtra and Gujarat, emptying into the Arabian Sea via the Gulf of Cambay.
It is the largest west-flowing river in the peninsula, passing through a rift valley, and acts as a crucial water source for irrigation in MP, Gujarat and Maharashtra.
