Gauri Lankesh Murder Probe: Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah calls emergency meeting

Lankesh, a popular journalist who took stands against Right-wing ideology, was shot three times by some unidentified assailants outside her residence on Tuesday evening.

Karnataka Police have clamed that they have come across some good leads and have also secured CCTV footage, which will help them crack the case.

Her murder bears a resemblance with earlier murders of rationalists Narendra Dabholkar and MM Kalburgi.

Gauri's brother Indrajit Lankesh told reporters that one lady who stays opposite his sister's house heard the noise of the shooting first which she initially mistook it as fire crackers and later identified Gauri's body lying down.

Indrajit added in saying: "I am requesting the cops to open the CCTV footage in front of the family members of Gauri. I tell you that the whole incident is being captured. Everything is recorded."

As per her earlier wish, Gauri's eyes were donated to a patient of the hospital where her postmortem is going on.

Meanwhile, following the incident, both the Congress and the BJP have condemned the murder.

Condoling the loss, Karnataka Law Minister TB Jayachandra was quoted in the media as saying, " There is a conspiracy behind Gauri's death. There are similarities between Kalburgi and Gauri Lankesh's murder. It is really shocking. She was always committed to secular credentials. There must be some conspiracy behind this. It is a serious matter, we will take it up. We can't rule out, it comes out only after verification"

Union Textile and Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani tweeted,"Condemn killing of senior journalist Gauri Lankesh. Hope speedy investigation is conducted & justice delivered. Condolences to the family."

The protest of the incident broke out in Kerala's capital Thiruvananthapuram, where huge number of journalists has hit the streets since morning.