‘Parashuram practised firing at makeshift range’

Police suspect he visited Gauri’s house prior to the crime

A video grab showing Parashuram Wagmore in police custody in Bengaluru on Tuesday.

While the Special Investigation Team (SIT) is yet to confirm whether Parashuram Wagmore, 26 — arrested on Tuesday in connection with the Gauri Lankesh murder case — was the gunman, sources said he, along with another accused, had practised shooting at a makeshift firing range for a couple of months before the September 2017 murder.

According to the SIT, Parashuram, along with his co-conspirators, conducted multiple reconnoitre missions around Gauri Lankesh’s residence at Rajarajeshwarinagar here.

“We suspect Parashuram visited Gauri’s house prior to the the crime. We have intensified our search for the murder weapon,” said a senior police officer.

The other accused in the case who are in custody are K.T. Naveen Kumar, 37; Sujeet Kumar alias Praveen, 37; Amol Kale alias Bhaisab, 39, from Maharashtra; Amit Degwekar alias Pradeep, 39, from Goa; and Manohar Edave, 28, from Vijayapura district.

The SIT obtained information about Parashuram while searching Manohar’s house soon after his arrest. They found diaries and mobile phones in the house that had Parshuram’s contact number. “Call record details showed that both Manohar and Parashuram were in regular touch with each other before and after the murder of Gauri Lankesh,” the senior police officer said.

‘Had gone underground’

“When we started searching for him, we found that he had gone underground soon after Manohar’s arrest. This further strengthened our suspicions,” the police officer said.

When contacted, Anucheth M.N., investigating officer of the SIT, said, “Investigations have revealed that Parashuram is one among the accused.”