A forensic expert has confirmed to a Bengaluru court that DNA samples obtained from a toothbrush which was found in an abandoned hideout in Bengaluru match with that of 30-year-old Parashuram Waghmore, who is the accused shooter in the murder of journalist and activist Gauri Lankesh on September 5, 2017. Forensic expert L Purushotham of the Karnataka State Forensic Science Laboratory confirmed his findings in the trial court, which is hearing the murder case of the journalist.
Purushotham testified that the DNA of tissues found on a toothbrush from a hideout used by the accused killers matched with the DNA of Parashuram Waghmore and that the DNA samples of the hair found on bedsheets of the hideout was a match with Amol Kale, the prime accused who is standing trial for being the mastermind of the murder.
The DNA matches are a key piece of evidence linking Amol Kale and Parashuram Waghmore, and a religious crime syndicate, to the plot to assassinate Gauri Lankesh. The DNA analysis however did not throw up matches to other suspects including Ganesh Miskin and Amit Baddi who are accused of providing logistic support for the murder plot. The hideout in question is the residence of one of the murder accused – Suresh HS alias Teacher – in Seegehalli on the outskirts of Bengaluru.
It was in 2016, that Parashuram Waghmore was recruited to the team put together by Amol Kale for the assassination of Gauri Lankesh. According to Parashuram’s confession to the police, which was included in the 10,000-page chargesheet, Amole Kale had convinced Parashuram that it was his duty to kill the journalist-activist for her anti-Hindu views.
The chargesheet had the names of 18 men in Gauri Lankesh’s murder. These names include that of Amol Kale (alias Bhai Saheb), and Bharath Kurane (alias Tomatar) who cooked for Gauri’s shooter and a few other associates while they were camped in Bengaluru. The 18 men were said to be affiliated with various right-wing Hindutva outfits such as Sanatan Sanstha, Hindu Janajagruti Samiti (HJS) and Shiv Pratishthan Hindustan.