SIT releases sketches of Lankesh murder suspects

“Three sketches of two suspects have been made on the basis of their description by eyewitness accounts and the CCTV footage obtained. Two sketches of one suspect were made by two sketch-makers as per eyewitness accounts,” SIT Head and Inspector General of Police (IGP) B.K. Singh told reporters here.

Lankesh, 55, editor of Kanda weekly tabloid “Gauri Lankesh Patrike” was shot dead outside her house in the city’s southwest suburb on the night of September 5, sparking outrage and tionwide protests. “We have got video clips of a motorcycle rider who is suspected to be involved in the commission of the offence,” asserted Singh. Giving an account of the investigation conducted over the last one month, Singh said the suspects, aged between 25-35 years, were residing in the city for at least one week before they committed the crime. They carried out a “recce” around Lankesh’s home prior to committing the crime, he said. The SIT has interrogated more than 200-250 people as part of the investigation so far, added Singh.

Along with sketches of the suspects, the SIT has also released to the public two video clips captured through CCTVs around the locality of Lankesh’s residence showing a motor cycle rider. Those sharing any information that could lead to the killers shall be rewarded as announced by the state government, he said.

In September, Home Minister of Kartaka Ramalinga Reddy had announced that the state government had decided to reward Rs 10 lakh to anyone providing information and clues to Lankesh’s killers. “It is due to the public help that we have reached this far in the probe and could release the sketches of killers,” Singh added.

“We are investigating only on the basis of evidence, and are not looking at any particular institution behind these suspects,” Singh asserted. A day after the murder, the state government had formed an SIT under the state’s Crime Investigation Department (CID) to probe the murder with inter-state ramifications as the suspects could be from within Kartaka or other states.

The SIT has IGP Singh as its head and Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) M.N. Anucheth as the main Investigation Officer (IO). (IANS)