East Anjaneya Temple Street in Basavanagudi was abuzz with activity as usual on Wednesday, but the office of Gauri Lankesh, the weekly edited by Gauri Lankesh, was deserted. The woman editor, who almost single-handedly brought out the magazine, was killed the previous night and there was none to fill her place. A lone police constable kept watch and a van was parked close by.
The only person allowed into the building was her mother Indira Lankesh, who came out and asked the police to lock up the place. Refusing to speak to the media, a visibly shaken Ms. Indira folded hands and asked to be allowed to mourn in peace.
S. Raju, manager of the publication and a long associate, still wore a look of disbelief. “I have been seeing her since the days of her father, Lankesh, editing the magazine... On Tuesday, as usual, she reached office at noon. After editing copies scheduled for the week, she quietly locked her chamber and left. I left office at 6.45 p.m. It might be around 8.30 p.m. that I got a call from Indiramma, who asked me to rush to her place. The rest... you know,” he trailed off.
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Girish Talikatte, who worked with Gauri on Tuesday, recalled how it was a long and hard working day for her hours before her death. “She was busy as Tuesday was the deadline for our edition. She was also editing some of the stories that landed for the Deepavali issue,” said Mr. Girish, who has been assisting Gauri to bring out the tabloid for the past six years.
M. Prasad, owner of coffee works opposite to Gauri’s office, who used to watch her car entering the office almost every day, was in tears. “Can you imagine pumping bullets into someone, simply for having ideological differences?” he said incredulously.
R. Lokesh, who stays near Gauri’s office, noted the absence of a street dog, which used to follow Gauri’s car as soon it entered the building. “She used to feed the dog every day on reaching office. It refused to eat when offered food today and silently disappeared,” he said.
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