BENGALURU: A key accused in the journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh murder case has been identified as the one who fired at noted Kannada litterateur M M Kalburgi.
“Ganesh Miskin, an incense stick maker from Hubballi, is said to be associated with some radical right-wing groups. He was identified by the late scholar’s wife Umadevi and another independent eyewitness during an identification parade held in Dharwad on Wednesday. Umadevi broke down when she saw Miskin,” sources told The New Indian Express.
Umadevi had seen Miskin that fateful morning on August 30, 2015, when he had knocked on their door. Umadevi had opened the door and Miskin asked for Prof Kalburgi.
When he came to the door, Miskin had shot Kalburgi in the forehead from pointblank range with a contraband 7.65mm pistol.
The same pistol was used in the murder of Gauri Lankesh on September 5, 2017.
Miskin is suspected to be the motorcycle rider who had ferried Gauri’s shooter Parshuram Waghmare. Last month, Amol Kale, who is accused No. 1 in the Gauri murder case, and Praveen Prakash Chatur, who was arrested by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on May 31, were identified by some eyewitnesses in the Kalburgi murder case.
“The SIT will soon submit the charge sheet in the Kalburgi case,” said the source.
The SIT, which was set up to investigate the Gauri murder case, was directed to probe the Kalburgi assassination case also by the Supreme Court in February.
The case was earlier being investigated by the state Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
Miskin was arrested in July 2018 from Hubballi. He had reportedly told the SIT that a blue-coloured motorcycle was allegedly stolen by a mechanic by the name of Suryavanshi to execute the Kalburgi murder.
The killers had abandoned the motorcycle in Belagavi district.
It was recovered by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad in August last year.