VIJAYAPURA: Two persons accused in the murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh, who were recently released on bail, were welcomed and honored by leaders of Hindutva organizations here on Saturday evening.
The accused, Parasuram Waghmore and Manohar Yadawe, participated in a religious ritual at the Kalikadevi temple and performed a puja at the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji before garlanding it at Shivaji Circle.
Hindutva activists shouted “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” and expressed their support for Sanatan Dharma. The group’s leader, Umesh Vandal, honored the two accused with shawls and garlands. A video of the two being honored has gone viral on social media.
Sriram Sene leader Neelkantha Kandagal claimed that innocent people have been unjustly sentenced to seven years in prison for Gauri Lankesh’s murder. He stated that the accused were not involved in the crime and alleged that the Congress government is targeting only Hindu activists.
The accused refused to speak to media personnel present at the event.
Recently, a sessions court in Bengaluru granted bail to eight individuals involved in the Gauri Lankesh murder case. Bail was granted to Amol Kale, Rajesh D Bangera, Vasudev Suryawanshi, Rushikesh Devadekar, Parasuram Waghmore, Ganesh Miskin, Amit Baddi, and Manohar Yadawe.
The Karnataka High Court had previously granted bail to four accused in the case on September 4: Bharat Kurane, Srikanth Pangarkar, Sujith Kumar, and Sudhanwa Gondhalekar.
Gauri Lankesh, the editor of Lankesh Patrike newspaper, was shot dead by two men on a motorcycle on the night of September 5, 2017, outside her home in Rajarajeshwarinagar, Bengaluru. The then Congress government set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the case. The SIT identified 18 accused, including the alleged mastermind Amol Kale, shooter Parasuram Waghmore, and Ganesh Miskin, who rode the motorcycle. The accused were charged under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code, Arms Act, and Karnataka Control of Organized Crime Act.