The Bengaluru police investigating the murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh appear to have zeroed in on a “man in a dark jacket” who shot her from point blank range as she alighted from her car on Tuesday evening. She is said to have been close to the door of her two-storeyed house in Rajarajeshwari Nagar, within the limits of Chamarajpet police station.
A preliminary analysis of CCTV footage, both from the unit placed on the ground floor entry to Lankesh’s house and at least another on the dimly lit street in the neighbourhood showed that while the man in the dark jacket crossed a lane from his “waiting place” – an unfinished apartment block adjacent to the slain journalist’s house – two others on a bike followed her.
All three men had covered their faces.
Lankesh’s Killing “Professionally Executed”
According to highly-placed police sources in Bengaluru, the footage is not clear because of lack of sufficient light in or near the scene of the crime. The two bike-borne associates of the man who actually pulled out a gun and shot Lankesh from point blank range are seen to have followed the veteran journalist’s vehicle.
The shooter, who was picked up by the duo the moment he killed her, jumped onto the bike as the second pillion before the trio lost themselves in a maze of crossroads not very far from the crime scene. These crossroads, police sources said, were dimly lit with only one narrow lane having a single street light, making the attack as unnoticeable as possible.
While the police are investigating all possible angles and theories, including unconfirmed reports, a senior officer familiar with the modus operandi of contract killer gangs as well as hitmen who operate out of Karnataka and adjoining states, said that Lankesh’s killing was “professionally executed”.
“The hitmen could be from anywhere – Mumbai, Thane or Ratnagiri. The modus operandi of the killers involved in some of the past sensational murder cases and the Lankesh case is similar. The men could belong to the same gang,” the senior officer said.
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