Hindutva baiter shot dead - Journalist known for anti-establishment views killed outside her home in Bangalore

K.M. Rakesh, TT, Bangalore, Sept. 5: Gauri Lankesh, a journalist known for her anti-establishment views and withering criticism of the Sangh parivar's brand of Hindutva, was shot dead here today.

Editor of the well-known Kannada weekly Gauri Lankesh Patrike, Gauri, 55, was shot at the entrance of her home in Rajarajeshwari Nagar in the western suburbs of Bangalore around 8pm after she appeared to have got off her car.

Her body was left sprawled at the doorway to her home. Police said Gauri, who fought for social justice and against communalism, was shot in the forehead and chest.

The murder comes two years after rationalist scholar M.M. Kalburgi was killed in a similar manner at his home in Dharwad. The killing of Kalburgi, one of the attacks that triggered the intolerance debate and the wave of returned awards, took place on August 30, 2015, but the case is yet to be solved.

Neither the identity of Gauri's killers nor their motive had been established till late tonight. Some activists blamed Gauri's murder on the same forces that had killed rationalists such as Kalburgi and Narendra Dabholkar. Some Hindu fringe groups had been accused of killing the rationalists.

But Karnataka home minister Ramalinga Reddy said: "Who is behind the incident, whether it is the Naxalites or any other ideological fringe parties... will be known only after investigation. It is very premature to hold anybody responsible for the incident."

Chief minister and Congress leader P.C. Siddaramaiah had earlier expressed shock at the murder and recalled that Gauri had been instrumental in bringing some Naxalites into the mainstream. "I knew Gauri very well and I respected her work. I am deeply saddened," Siddaramaiah said.

The RSS's Karnataka unit expressed deep sorrow over the "heinous" murder. "The RSS appeals to the state government to act soon on the criminals responsible and bring them to the book," it said.

CPM leader Sitaram Yechury referred to an "eerie pattern" and asked: "Who has fostered this climate of bigotry, hate, intolerance and violence in India that took her life today? Why was she such a threat to them?"

Asked whether the government had at any time offered her security, the chief minister said: "Gauri met me several times but never asked for security."

According to home minister Reddy, a few neighbours in the quiet residential area, dotted with plush homes, heard the shots but thought they were firecrackers.

"(After realising Gauri had been shot) a neighbour called the police," said Reddy, who visited the spot.

Police sources said it was possible that Gauri had been followed from her office in Gandhi Nagar in the heart of the city to her home, around 12km away.

Reddy said the police had secured footage from a few cameras in the locality but added that it was too early to reach any conclusion.

City police commissioner T. Suneel Kumar said four empty cartridges had been found at the scene. "Gauri Lankesh collapsed before entering her house," he said. "Some neighbours said they heard a scooter. But we cannot confirm that at this stage."

Gauri's younger brother and well-known filmmaker Indrajit Lankesh demanded a CBI inquiry. "We all know what she stood for. Now I can only ask for strong action to quickly nab the culprits," said Indrajit.

Besides Indrajit, Gauri is survived by her filmmaker sister Kavita Lankesh and mother Indira.

A former correspondent with Sunday, a weekly magazine that used to be published by the ABP Group that owns The Telegraph, Gauri was the eldest daughter of P. Lankesh, whose Lankesh Patrike had earned a reputation for being anti-establishment.

Gauri later started her own weekly. She courted trouble with an article against BJP leaders and was sentenced to six months in jail in a defamation case filed by Dharwad Lok Sabha MP Pralhad Joshi and party leader Umesh Dushi. But she escaped prison time as the court granted her bail and allowed her to appeal.

Rationalist writer K.S. Bhagawan, living under police security since receiving death threats two years ago, told this newspaper that the incident was a "terrible reflection of the law-and-order situation in the country".

The Mysore-based rationalist said he had known Gauri well and described her as a role model. "This is shocking, to say the least. Society as a whole must take the blame for incidents like this when strong voices are silenced," Bhagawan said.

Narendra Nayak, president of the Federation of Indian Rationalists Association, told this newspaper that according to his information, Gauri had not sought security. "I have known her for around three decades and we collaborated on several issues like communalism. I accepted security when things got too hot, but I don't think she did (accept security)," said Nayak who took on the ideology of Hindutva and received death threats.

Prakash Belawadi, social activist, actor and a close friend of Gauri, said between sobs: "Let's move fast and nab the culprits and ensure stringent punishment."

Among the first to condemn the murder was Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who described it as "alarming", while Rahul Gandhi said: "Truth cannot be silenced."