Another suspect held in Gauri Lankesh murder, suspect sent to 14-day custody

Bengaluru: Another suspect has been arrested in connection with the killing of journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh, police said on Tuesday but denied speculation about him being the assassin.

The Special Investigating Team (SIT) of Karnataka police probing Lankesh's killing said it has arrested 26-year- old Parashuram Waghmare from Sindhagi in Vijaypura district of the state.

Waghmare was produced before the 3rd Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's court in Bengaluru which remanded him in SIT custody for 14 days for further interrogation, an official release said.

Inspector General of Police B K Singh, who heads the SIT, told PTI that nothing has emerged during the probe so far to suggest that Waghmare had shot Lankesh. "No. That thing has not come in our investigation," he said amid speculation in the media that Waghmare could be the assassin.

Waghmare's is the 6th arrest in connection with the killing of Lankesh, who was shot dead in front of her house here on September 5, 2017.

Lankesh was known for her strong views against hardline Hindutva.

"His role in the conspiracy and other details will be revealed later as it would affect the investigation at this stage," the SIT release said.

Waghmare was said to have links to right wing groups. The SIT had earlier arrested five people-- K T Naveen Kumar alias Hotte Manja, Amol Kale, Manohar Edve, Sujeeth Kumar alias Praveen and Amit Degvekar. Naveen Kumar is from Maddur in Mandya district of Karnataka, while Kale and Degvekar are from Maharashtra.

Edve and Sujeeth Kumar are also from Karnataka. Naveen Kumar, who had founded the Hindu Yuva Sena, was the first to be caught in Bengaluru while attempting to sell ammunition.

The other four were arrested for planning to kill Kannada writer K S Bhagawan, also known for his anti-Hindutva stand. It was while probing this case that the police suspected their role in Lankesh's assassination.