A special court in Bengaluru on Saturday rejected the bail applications of six accused in the Gauri Lankesh murder case, reported PTI. Earlier, the court hearing the cases under the Karnataka Control of Organised Crime Act had dismissed the bail pleas of three other accused.
“The bail plea filed by nine accused have been rejected including six on Saturday,” Special Public Prosecutor in the case S Balan told the news agency.
Lankesh, a journalist who was known for her strident views against Hindutva politics, was killed at her home in Bengaluru by gunmen on September 5, 2017. Her murder sparked protests around the country, and was seen by many as another in a spate of attacks that have targeted activists and writers critical of the right wing. At least 12 people were arrested in the case.
The SIT had found that Lankesh was killed after a conspiracy by members of a right-wing group, which is also accused of killing Kannada writer MM Kalburgi.
In February 2019, the Supreme Court had noted that the murders of Kalburgi, Lankesh, activists Narendra Dabholkar and Govind Pansare were part of a “very serious case”. Following that, the Supreme Court had directed that the murder case of Kalburgi be transferred to the same special investigation team that is looking into Lankesh’s killing. However, Lankesh’s sister Kavitha Lankesh had challenged the suggestion to club the investigations.
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