The police and the investigation teams have been scouring for clues in the brutal murder of journalist and Kannada writer Gauri Lankesh. An investigating officer told TNM on Thursday that the killer was hanging around Gauri’s home for the better part of the day.
The CCTV footage near Gauri’s home shows that the man, suspected to be the killer, scouted Gauri’s house at least twice before the actual murder which took place around 8pm on September 5.
Police estimate that the man is aged between 30 and 35. He was wearing a white shirt and was riding a two-wheeler.
The first time he did the recce was at 3.27pm. He drove up to Gauri’s gate and then drove 10-15 feet ahead only to double back and pass by it again.
Around 7.15pm, the man came by Gauri’s house again and this time he peeked over the gate to see if she was at home. Seeing that Gauri wasn’t home, he left and possibly spent time driving around the inside lanes of the area.
The investigating officer told TNM that the man was wearing a helmet at all times, so it is still difficult to identify him.
The third time he came, the man was wearing a black jacket and carrying a black sling bag. This is when he actually committed the murder. Even though the killer is wearing a black jacket, the police suspect it is the same person who was doing the recce earlier because of the similarity in their build.
He was possibly carrying the murder weapon in the sling bag, the police said. However, the CCTV footage isn’t clear enough for them to discern if he took out the weapon from the bag.
The investigating officer also said that 100 people from Mangaluru, Chikkamangaluru, Bengaluru and Sringeri had been questioned in relation to Gauri’s murder.
Meanwhile, Deccan Herald reported that Gauri’s brother Indrajit, was not cooperating with the police.
SIT officials questioned Indrajit on Wednesday based on a 2005 complaint by Gauri that her brother had threatened her at gunpoint over a property issue.
“We are trying to check the weapon Indrajit had and he is not cooperating with investigation,” a senior police official said.
The police conceded however, that Indrajit’s non-cooperation could be a result of his indignance at being quizzed about his own sister’s death. The police maintained that they needed to record the statements of everyone related to Gauri regardless.
Further, Karnataka Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy told the media on Thursday that the SIT will be able to establish the motive behind Gauri’s murder within the next three days.