Lankesh was threat to my religion, so I killed her: Waghmare says SIT

Bangalore: Brainwashing people in the name of religion has been a forte of some and its is on rise these days. Last year, eminent journalist Gauri Lankesh was murdered allegedly by hardline Hindutva outfits, who were of the opinion that Lankesh was a threat to ‘Hindutva’ and the ideologies associated with it.

Arrested by the Special Investigation Team from Singhadi in Vijaypura district of Karnataka on Thursday, 26-year-old Parashuram Waghmare has confirmed that he killed Lankesh because he was told to kill someone to save his religion.

The SIT sources said that though Waghmare did not knew who he was going to kill, he agreed. However, the perpetrator confessed he should not have killed a woman, reports The Times of India.

Hatred for Rationalists

With the murder plot being planned allegedly by the hardline Hindutva outfits since May 2017, the severeness of the hatred for rationalists can be easily be expected. The presence of names of eminent personalities in the diary found after the arrest of Waghmare, should concern the security analysts and lawmakers on ways to deal with the issue.

The diary mentioned the names of Jnanpith Awardee Girish Karnad, politician Lalitha Naik, Veerbhadra Channamalla Swamy of Nidumamidi Mutt and rationalist C S Dwarkanath – all voiced their opinions against ‘hardline Hindutva’ at some point of time and were on the hit list.

The Murder Plot

According to the SIT sources, after the first meeting in May, Waghmare was trained in Belagavi to use airgun. He was then brought to Bangalore on September 3, where another perpetrator showed him the house and the person, he was supposed to kill.

On September 4, 2017, Waghmare was taken to the third perpetrator’s house in Bangalore. The perpetrators took him again to Lankesh’s R R Nagar house and told Waghmare to finish up the job. However, by that time Lankesh had entered the house and they had to return back.

In a attempt for success, Waghmare was taken in a bike – by the same people – to the Lankesh’s house on September 5 again in the evening, after being given a gun at 4 pm. This time they arrived early and waited for Lankesh’s return.

In the night, Gauri arrived and stopped her car in front of the gate and was opening it from inside. Waghmare approached the journalist and coughed. When she looked at him, Waghmare pumped four bullets into her, killing Lankesh on spot. Soon after that, all the perpetrators left the city.

The Probe

Based on the statement of Waghmare the SIT is suspecting the involvement of four people in the murder. Waghmare till now has not revealed the name of other perpetrators.

So far six arrests have been made which include Parashuram Waghmare, K T Naveen alias Hotte Manja, Amol Kale, Manohar Edve, Sujeeth Kumar alias Praveen and Amit Degvekar. While Naveen Kumar is from Maddur in Mandya district of Karnataka, Amol Kale and Amit Degvekar are from Maharashtra. The team is investigating the matter and trying to arrest three more people suspected in the case.

What Next ?

With new developments being revealed in the case and one suspect accepting the charge of murder for saving his religion, it’s high time the lawmakers of the country should sit with security analysts and discuss over hatred crimes. Though, the shooter in Lankesh’s murder case has accepted his fault, there are still many on the run, hiding in the name of hardline religious sentiments.

Photo Credit: The Scroll