A court in Karnataka, on Monday, 23 July, acquitted 26-year-old Parashuram Waghmore in connection with a case of hoisting a Pakistani flag in Karnataka’s Sindagi town in 2012.
Waghmore and five others were acquitted on charges of attempting to create communal riots by hoisting Pakistan flag and blaming it on the Muslim community.
Waghmore is also the man who allegedly shot down activist journalist Gauri Lankesh in September 2017.
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The judge in her verdict pointed out that the investigation by the Karnataka Police failed to gather enough evidence or produce technical evidence against Waghmore and others.
The acquittal while the lawyers of the men arrested by the Karnataka SIT probing the Gauri Lankesh case have been alleging that the SIT has been arresting Hindu activists without sufficient evidence.
Meanwhile, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) arrested a 50-year-old man, Rajesh D Bangera, from Madikere district of Karnataka on Monday, along with two others, in connection with the Gauri Lankesh murder case. A total of 10 arrests have been made in the case so far.
The 2012 Case and Verdict
According to the chargesheet, on 1 January 2012, Waghmore and five others had hoisted a Pakistan flag in front of the tehsildar’s office in Sindagi town in Vijayapura district. Alleging that the flag was hoisted by the Muslim community in the town, Waghmore and others held a protest in the town with an intention to create communal tensions, the police claimed.
But before the situation went out of control, police arrested Waghmore, his cousin Arun Waghmore and Sriram Sene activists Anil Solakar, Mallangouda Patil, Rohit Navi and Suni Agasar.
After a six-year-long trial, on Monday, Vijayapura district court judge KB Geetha acquitted Waghmore and five others for the want of evidence.
According to SIT, his alleged involvement in the 2012 case aided his recruitment to the plot to kill Gauri Lankesh.
Fresh Arrests in Gauri Murder
On Monday, the SIT arrested three more men in connection with the Gauri Lankesh murder case, making the total number of arrests in the case go up to 10.
Fifty-year-old Rajesh D Bangera was arrested by the SIT from Madikeri district and was remanded to police custody till 6 August. Two more men arrested from Hubli district are alleged to have played a key role in disposing the 7.76 mm pistol used to murder Gauri Lankesh.
The two have been identified as Amith Ramachandra Baddi, 27, a goldsmith, and Ganesh Mishkin, 27, an incense stick distributor.
Sources said while Baddi was responsible for disposing the weapon, Mishkin was the bike rider who took Waghmore to Gauri’s house on the night of the murder and took the weapon from him after the shooting.
Lawyers Blame SIT
A group of lawyers, volunteering to defend the suspects arrested so far. alleged that the SIT has been arresting Hindu activists without any proof. When two of the arrested men were presented in the court on Monday evening, the lawyers claimed the SIT had arrested the two on 21 July and had kept them in illegal custody.
However, despite their argument, SIT was granted the custody of the two men for 14 days.
A senior SIT officer rebutted the lawyers’ claim and said that the investigation is on the right track and based on the relevant evidence. “They will see the evidence when the trial begins,” the officer said.
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