Karnataka: HC grants bail to three accused in Gauri Lankesh murder case

Bengaluru: Karnataka High Court on Tuesday, granted bail to three individuals accused of the 2017 murder of activist-journalist Gauri Lankesh.

Justice S. Vishwajith Shetty of the Kalaburagi bench granted bail to Amit Digvekar, KT Naveen Kumar, and HL Suresh.

The three accused applied for bail, referencing the case of co-accused Mohan Nayak, who was granted bail by the High Court in December 2023 due to delays in the trial. Nayak highlighted that only 90 out of 527 chargesheet witnesses had been examined at the time.

Despite the State’s opposition, which cited a previous high court order denying bail to those accused in the murder of scholar and activist MM Kalaburagi, Justice Shetty decided in favor of granting bail.

Digvekar was arrested based on a statement from the first accused, Amol Kale, who is alleged to have provided financial support for the murder. Naveen is accused of conspiring with the thirteenth accused, Sujith, in a park.

Suresh is accused of helping the fifteenth accused, Vikas Patil, locate Gauri Lankesh’s address and hide the weapons used in the crime.

Gauri Lankesh was tragically shot dead by two motorcycle-borne assailants outside her home in West Bengaluru on the night of September 5, 2017. The main conspirator, Kale, is accused of plotting the murder. Parashuram Waghmore is accused of firing the shots, while Ganesh Miskin is accused of assisting in the escape by riding the getaway bike.

The list of accused in the case includes Amol Kale, Parashuram Waghmore, Ganesh Miskin, Amit Baud, Amit Digvekar, Bharat Kurane, HL Suresh, Rajesh Bangera, Sudhanva Khudekar, Sharad Kalaskar, Mohan Nayak, Vasudev Suryavanshi, Sujith Kumar, Manohar Edav, Vikas Patil, Srikanth Pangarkar, KT Naveen Kumar, and Hrishikesh Deodikar.

They face charges under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code, the Arms Act, and the Karnataka Control of Organised Crimes Act (KCOCA) at the Rajarajeshwari Nagar police station in Bengaluru.