BENGALURU: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the murder of journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh has made its seventh arrest. Mohan Nayak (50), a doctor by profession hailing from Sullia in Dakshina Kannada district, has been arrested on the charge of harbouring the killers of Gauri.SIT Chief Investigation Officer, DCP MN Anucheth said, “The SIT has arrested one person, Mohan Nayak, from Dakshina Kannada district. His role in the crime is being kept confidential for the purpose of investigation. He was arrested on Wednesday and was produced before the 3rd Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) court and taken for six days police custody”.
SIT sources said that Nayak runs a homeopathy clinic in Kumbalgodu on the outskirts of the city on Mysuru Road. “He is also associated with right-wing organisations and used to attend religious events. In one such event, he came in contact with Amol Kale, who later played a key role in Gauri’s murder. The both were in touch with each other since 2016 and Kale, along with a few other accused in the case, were staying in Nayak’s house before the murder,” an official said.
“The accused, including Kale, had stayed in three other houses before the murder. They were staying in Nayak’s house in June 2017, while they were still in the planning stage to carry out the murder. Nayak clearly knew that they were going to kill Gauri and still accommodated them in his house and concealed their plan. Besides, he gave his mobile phone to Kale to make calls related to the conspiracy and helped him in the offence.
He has been booked for concealing design to commit offence and harbouring offenders,” the official said. Even after the murder, Nayak allegedly went to Belagavi and met Kale. “It is established that they both were in touch even after the murder. He was arrested from Sullia on Wednesday. He will taken to Belagavi, Kushalnagar, Sampaje and other places as part of the probe,” the official added.
Kale’s diary led investigation team to zero in on Nayak
Kale, who had maintained a diary, had reportedly mentioned several phone numbers, including that of Mohan Nayak’s. “We were verifying all the numbers and Nayak’s number was under scanner. Parashuram Waghmare, who gunned down Gauri, had also stayed in Nayak’s house during one of the conspiracy meetings. He had told that there was another person with Kale and Amit Degwekar, and he used to speak to them a lot. But he did not know his name. When we investigated this angle, it was revealed that Nayak had assisted Kale in the murder,” an official said.
3 still at large
The SIT, which has arrested seven people so far, is yet to nab the three persons who allegedly convinced and instigated Waghmare to kill Gauri.