A witness in the murder case of journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh has alleged that he has been receiving threats to stop him from testifying against the prime accused, Parashuram Waghmore, before the city civil and session court on Tuesday.
Sources said despite repeated threats, the witness gave statement before the judge and later, the special public prosecutor brought the alleged threat to the notice of the court.
Following the submission, the court warned the accused against such activities and directed the police to provide necessary security to the witness .
The witness was a friend of Parashuram Waghmore, who allegedly shot dead Gauri Lankesh, and is accused number 2 in the case.
The witness, identified as Daulat, identified Waghmore through video conference and also testified that he was involved in the Pakistan flag hoisting case in Sindagi.
However, before Daulat left for Bengaluru to testify before the court, four men reportedly came to his house and threatened him with dire consequences if he gave a statement against Waghmore.
While Daulat was being escorted to the court by the police, he got repeated calls warning him with dire consequences, sources said.
However, after Special Public Prosecutor S. Balan brought it to the notice of the judge, Ramachandra P. Huddar, he asked for details from the witness and instructed the police to escort Daulat back to his hometown Sindagi and also directed the jurisdictional police to provide security cover to the witness .
Prashuram Waghmore was arrested as A5 in the case relating to hoisting of the Pakistan flag in front of Sindagi Taluk office in January 2012. However, he was released along with five others in 2018.
The trial in the Gauri Lankesh murder case began in May this year, nearly five years after she was killed on September 5, 2017. Trial is being held every second week of the month for five days.
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