The Special Investigation Team probing the murder of journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh arrested Parashuram Wagmore, 26, after tracking him down to the border district of Vijayapura, where he was hiding, and escorted him back to Bengaluru.
“We picked him up in Sindagi after a long chase,” said an SIT source. Parashuram is the sixth accused in the case. He was produced before the Third Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate here on Tuesday, who remanded him in police custody for 14 days.
According to SIT sources, Parashuram said that he was introduced to one of the accused Amol Kale — through his friend Manohar, another accused — who assigned him the job of killing Gauri. “He claims that he was provided target practice in the forests in Karnataka–Maharashtra border,” said sources.
- K.T. Naveen Kumar, 37, from Maddur. He is the founder of Hindu Yuva Sene and accused of providing logistical support to the gunmen and providing bullets that were used to kill Gauri Lankesh. He was arrested on March 9.
- Sujeet Kumar alias Praveen, 37, from Shivamogga district. He was first arrested by the Upparpet police in Bengaluru in connection with an illegal arms case and later for his role in the assassination of Gauri. He is the key link between the Gauri murder and the plot to target writer K.S. Bhagavan. Naveen was allegedly recruited by Praveen.
- Other conspirators: Amol Kale alias Bhaisab, 39, from Maharashtra; Amit Degwekar alias Pradeep, 39, from Goa; and Manohar Edave, 28, from Vijayapura district. All are sharpshooters and associates of Praveen. They were arrested in third week of May for allegedly plotting to kill Bhagavan, months after Gauri was shot dead
SIT officials are verifying his claims, and said he has the same build as the gunman who shot Gauri dead on September 5, 2017. “Given his knowledge of sharpshooting, we are not ruling out the possibility. Based on CCTV camera footage of the murder, the shooter was shorter than Gauri by a few inches — approximately 5’1” in height and weighing around 80 kg. Parashuram’s physique matches this,” said sources. The police are also questioning Parashuram and others to learn about the person who rode the motorcycle with the shooter on that day. They are on the hunt for a suspect by the name of Nihal, whose name also cropped up in the investigation.
Makeshift firing range
While the SIT is yet to confirm whether Parashuram 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’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.
“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.”
