Gauri Lankesh murder case: Special Court frame charges against 17 accused

Bengaluru, Nov 1: In the recent development of the sensational murder case of a writer, activist Gauri Lankesh, the Special Court has framed charges against 17 accused persons involved in it. The accused have been presented through video conference from the Parappana Agrahara Central Prison in Bengaluru, Mumbai Arthur Road Jail, and Yerawada Prison in Pune. The charges were read out to the accused in Kannada and Marathi. Anil Bheemanna Katti, the special judge read out charges to the accused person through a video conference on Saturday. The court adjourned the matter to December 8 for fixing the date of trial. The accused sought the permission of the court to meet their advocates in prison and pleaded not guilty to the murder charges of Gauri Lankesh. The court asked them to submit applications in this regard. The court has also directed the jail authorities in the Central Prison, Parappana Agrahara not to shift accused persons without the consent of the court. Notably, three unidentified men shot Gauri to death at her house in Rajarajeshwari Nagar, Bangalore. The men fired at least seven bullets at her at around 8 p.m. while she was unlocking the main door of her house after returning from her office. The killers were wearing helmets and escaped on a two-wheeler Honda Dio after the murder. Three of the bullets pierced Gauri's head, neck, and chest, resulting in her death at the scene. After proper investigation, police have arrested Amol Kale, Amith Baddi, Parashuram Waghmore, Ganesh Miskin, Amit Degwekar, Bharath Kurane, Rajesh D. Bangera, Sudhanva Gondalekar, Mohan Nayak N., Suresh H.L., Sharad B. Kalaskar, Vasudev B. Suryavanshi, Sujithkumar, Manohar Yadave, Srikanth J. Pagarkar, K.T. Naveen Kumar and Rushikesh Devadekar in connection with Gauri Murder case.