Rajesh D. Bangera, the tenth person to be arrested for the murder of journalist and activist Gauri Lankesh, allegedly imparted weapon training to youth recruited by Amol Kale, a key suspect, and is believed to be one of handlers of suspected gunman Prashant Waghmore.
“He trained Kale’s boys and showed them how to handle guns and fire at a safe range for effective results,” said a source from the Special Investigation Team (SIT), which is probing the case.
Bangera, 50, works as a second division assistant in the Education Department in Mangaluru. He was arrested from his hometown in Madikeri. He was in possession of two licenced firearms. He allegedly used the permits to procure ammunition for Kale. “He is an active member of right-wing Hindu outfits and would attend meetings where he often expressed his ideology, which hinged on the belief that Hinduism had to be safeguarded. He would instigate people to take up arms,” the source added.
It was through these meetings that he met Kale, who is from Pune in Maharashtra. According to investigators, the two reportedly bonded over their common ideology and soon Bangera started training people. He allegedly helped Kale identify potential recruits.
Link between Bangera and Waghmore yet to be ascertained
The SIT have yet to confirm whether the ammunition Rajesh Bangera, 50, provided to Amol Kale was used to kill journalist and activist Gauri Lankesh.
“We still have to ascertain whether Waghmore was trained by Bangera,” said an SIT officer. “What we do know is that Bangera, on the instructions of Kale, conducted weapon training sessions in forests in Dakshina Kannada, Kodagu, Belagavi and Vijayapura districts. Over the last two years, they trained people in Goa, and Pune and other parts of Maharashtra,” he added.
Kale, who hails from Pune, is suspected to have a vast network of contacts who may have also imparted training to recruits.
After they were trained, the youth were sent back to their native towns and asked to ‘hibernate’ till they were called for a job. “Money was not the driving force, as people were brainwashed to think that they were protecting their ideology.”
According to the SIT, Kale was the chief handler of the cell that funded and provided weapons for the murder of Gauri Lankesh. The police have also linked him to the plot to assassinate Mysuru-based rationalist and author K.S. Bhagavan. At the time of his arrest, they recovered a diary with two hit-lists containing 26 names of people across the country, who were ‘identified’ for their perceived anti-Hindu stand. Apart from Gauri and Prof. Bhagavan, the list included Jnanpith awardee Girish Karnad and Veerabhadra Chennammalla, a Hindu seer who led the movement for the anti-superstition bill in Karnataka, SIT sleuths claim.
