KT Naveen Kumar, an accused the murder case of journalist Gauri Lankesh, has agreed to undergo a narco analysis test, PTI quoted his lawyer as saying. The police has so far arrested six suspects in connection with the case.
According to the chargesheet filed by the Special Investigation Team, Kumar had procured the bullets that were used to kill Lankesh outside her house in Bengaluru on September 5. The chargesheet claims that Kumar provided logistical support to the shooters and guided them to her house in Bengaluru.
“My client has agreed to undergo a narco analysis test to prove his innocence in the Gauri Lankesh murder case,” Kumar’s counsel, A Vedamurthy, told PTI. “We have applied for it in the city civil court.”
On Tuesday, a city civil and sessions court in Bengaluru sought to know if Kumar was ready to undergo the narco analysis test. Vedamurthy had alleged in the court that the SIT had taken Kumar for a narco analysis test to Gujarat, but did not inform him.
The lawyer alleged that according to a statement of a person called Aya Ullah Sharief, who claimed to have sold bullets to Kumar, the bullets were meant for making a locket. Vedamurthy also said that the bullets purchased by Kumar and those used in the journalist’s murder did not match.
The court will hear the case again on Thursday.
Reports have said that the investigation team had earlier claimed that Lankesh was killed for her “anti-Hindu” views. They also said there are links between her murder and those of Kannada writer MM Kalburgi, and rationalists Govind Pansare and Narendra Dabholkar.
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