A key witness in the Gauri Lankesh murder trial has reported receiving a threatening phone call shortly before he was scheduled to appear before a special court in Bengaluru. This witness, involved in the identification of a house allegedly used in planning the murder, had earlier assisted the police during the investigation. One prosecution witness turned hostile during the trial held last week
The 55-year-old businessman from Belagavi had rented out a property where members of a right-wing criminal network reportedly met to finalise the conspiracy to assassinate journalist Gauri Lankesh on September 5, 2017. He was listed as a panchnama witness after the accused individuals, Sharad Kalaskar, Ganesh Miskin, and Amit Baddi, identified the property during police investigation.
Before his court appearance last week, the witness informed the state public prosecutor (SPP) about receiving a threatening call. Acting on his complaint, the SPP submitted a memo in court on May 28.
“Learned Spl. P.P. has filed a memo along with a requisition of CW (court witness)… Copy of the requisition is served on learned counsel for the accused,” the court noted.
A source in the prosecution confirmed that the witness upheld his original statement in court despite the threat. He testified that in August 2018, the police brought two suspects, Ganesh and Amit, to the Belagavi house, followed by Sharad Kalaskar a month later. He mentioned a fourth suspect but said he couldn’t recall the name due to the time elapsed. In court, he identified Amit, Shrikant Pangarkar, and Sharad Kalaskar.
Meanwhile, during the same trial proceedings, another prosecution witness turned hostile. This 37-year-old witness, associated with local politics in Belagavi, denied all previous statements recorded under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code in September 2018. He had earlier confessed to attending multiple weapons training camps allegedly held by a Hindutva-linked group.
He also dismissed the Test Identification Parade he had taken part in at Bengaluru prison in November 2018, claiming that his identifications were made under police pressure. During cross-examination, he rejected suggestions that his change in testimony was due to any influence or threats, even though several accused were granted bail in 2023.
Gauri Lankesh was fatally shot outside her home by Parashuram Waghmore, identified by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) as a former Sri Rama Sene member. Forensic reports revealed that the same 7.65 mm country-made pistol used in her killing was also linked to the murders of Kannada scholar M.M. Kalburgi (2015), activist Govind Pansare (2015), and rationalist Narendra Dabholkar (2013).
The SIT has accused 17 individuals affiliated with fringe right-wing groups in the Lankesh case. Charges include murder and organized criminal activity under the Karnataka Control of Organized Crimes Act (KCOCA), 2000.
According to the SIT’s 9,235-page chargesheet filed in November 2018, “Members of the syndicate identified and targeted individuals opposed to their ideology. Their actions followed principles laid out in ‘Kshatra Dharma Sadhana’, a publication of Sanatan Sanstha.”
