Bengaluru: The SIT officials probing the sensational killing of journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh quizzed a journalism student who was a witness to the murderers escaping after committing the crime on October 5.
“The journalism student, a resident of Ideal Homes Township in Rajarajeshwarinagar was walking infront of Gauri’s house on September 5 at around 7.50 pm at the time of the incident. Three labourers too were present at the same time. The faces of labourers and the student were not found in both the CCTV cameras installed at Gauri’s house. But in another CCTV camera placed in a building at the end of road, they have been captured. The murderer is seen staring at the student and the labourers, sitting on a bike after committing the crime.”
The student initially had claimed that he was not present at the time of crime. “When we showed the CCTV footage, he has confessed to his presence on the day of Gauri’s murder,” said an SIT official.
“There was no electricity in the vicinity that night. I did not even know it was Gauri’s house. But I saw 5.3 ft tall man coming out of the house and left in a bike waiting for him. Both of them were in helmets and I could not see their faces. It must be a Red Pulsar, Discovery or Passion bike and I could not see the vehicle number too. After sometime media persons and cops were gathered in front of the house and that was when I realised she was murdered,” the student told SIT officials.
“We have verified the CCTV footages and we could only see ‘KA-O2 A’ and rest of the numbers are blurred. They might have changed the number plates by now,” said SIT officials.
The 55-year-old editor of Kannada weekly tabloid by her name “Gauri Lankesh Patrike” was gunned down by unidentified men outside her house in the city suburbs on September 5. The Special Investigation Team set up to probe the murder is yet to nab her killers.
