Journalist Gauri Lankesh was shot dead by unknown assailants on 6th September outside her home. Ever since the murder, the leftists have tried every possible trick in the book to somehow hold the Right Wing complicit in the matter. First they outright accused the Right Wing of being responsible for the crime and when that claim started to fall flat, they spun the narrative to blame the right for allegedly saying mean things about her.
While this whole cacophony was playing on, the Karnataka police had set up a Special Investigative Team (SIT) to probe the murder. This team also included two Scotland Yard (The Metropolitan Police Service which polices most parts of London) investigators who are said to be specialists in carrying out a technical investigation. The had incidentally also sought Scotland Yard’s help in the Kalburgi murder case but it is still unsolved.
People hoped that the police would not be influenced by the din created by the left-liberals and would carry out a thorough and impartial probe. It was reported that the SIT would again question Gauri Lankesh’s brother and also would question 2 former Naxal leaders. It was also reported that a Sanatan Sanstha angle was also being probed.
But now it seems that the investigation is taking a peculiar turn after people are claiming that the police is gearing up to question them just because they had involuntarily “crossed paths” with Gauri Lankesh:
https://twitter.com/vikramsampath/status/908573469368922113
Vikram Sampath is an author, musician, and winner of Sahita Akademi’s ‘yuva puraskar’ who is also the founder of the Bangalore Literature festival. Sampath claims that the article in question is over two years and he had never even met her.
If that is the case then questions might be asked about the rationale behind the police’s decision. Is the police operating with the logic that anyone who was remotely criticised at any point of time by Lankesh is a potential suspect?
If that is indeed the case then not only would the probe be virtually limitless, it would also chiefly make Right Wingers and even people like PM Modi suspects and in the matter as Lankesh was routinely critical of them.
It is also insinuated that Sampath fits the bill of a “right winger” because he in the past has held views contrary to the left by opposing the Award Wapsi Campaign and also by not agreeing to the glorification of Tipu Sultan. The left was so aggrieved by his “rebellion” that they had even forced him to disassociate himself from the Bangalore literature festival.
Many found such a step by the police to be extremely strange:
https://twitter.com/AdityaRajKaul/status/908574178462326785
https://twitter.com/jgopikrishnan70/status/908606273410572289
People also wondered if it would have far reaching implications for Sampath:
https://twitter.com/Abhina_Prakash/status/908612995059638272
This isn’t the only time the whole investigation has been in the news for the wrong reasons. As reported by us people like pop-historian Ramachandra Guha had allegedly tried to prejudice the probe by linking the murder to the RSS and the BJP in various media outlets. He as a result was served with a legal notice by lawyer Tejasvi Surya who is also a member of the Karnataka BJP Yuva Morcha.
Speaking to OpIndia, Surya confirmed that his legal notice had reached Guha on Thursday evening by registered post, and that he will wait for a few days for Guha to tender apology, failing which he will file a defamation case.