Gauri Lankesh murder: Fringe group leader taken into custody

A 37-year-old man was taken into custody on Friday by a Special Investigation Team in connection with the murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh.

A senior official said the suspect KT Naveen Kumar was detained by the Bengaluru Police on February 18. According to a report in Hindustan Times, Kumar hails from Maddur in Mandya district and in 2015 had formed a radical right-wing group called Hindu Yuva Sene, which doesn’t appear to be affiliated to any other organisation.

In October 2017, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) identified the two suspects and released their sketches.

Gauri Lankesh, known to be an anti-establishment voice with strident anti-right wing views, was shot dead at close range by unknown assailants at her home in Bengaluru on the night of September 5.

A writer, publisher and an editor, had returned home in her car. As she was opening the gate of the vehicle, the motorcycle-borne assailants sprayed bullets on her with two hitting her in the chest and one on the forehead.

The Karnataka government, had announced a Rs 10 lakh reward to anyone who gave clues about the killing that led to nationwide outrage and protests.

National award winning actor Prakash Raj had also questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his silence on those who were "celebrating" the killing of journalist Gauri Lankesh and said he felt like returning his awards.