Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday condemned the death of senior journalist and activist Gauri Lankesh and said it “is an assassination on democracy”.
“Absolutely shocked to learn about the murder of renowned journalist Gauri Lankesh. I have no words to condemn this heinous crime,” Siddaramaiah tweeted.
“In fact, this is an assassination on democracy. In her passing, Karnataka has lost a strong progressive voice, and I have lost a friend,” he added.
Meanwhile, Bengaluru deputy commissioner of police MN Anucheth confirmed that Lankesh was killed around 8-8:15 pm at her residence in Bengaluru’s Rajarajeshwari Naga.
Anucheth said that the number of assailants is not very clear, but three people are suspected to be involved in this.
He said that Lankesh succumbed to multiple bullet wounds on her body.
Lankesh was the editor of the Gauri Lankesh Patrike, a magazine described as an ‘anti-establishment’ publication.
Last year in November she was convicted of defamation and was sentenced to six months in jail, after she ran a piece in 2008 that Prahlad Joshi, a BJP MP from Dharwad, and Umesh Dushi, also of the BJP, found objectionable. However, the court also granted her bail and allowed her to appeal to a higher court.
Meanwhile, President of the Press Club of India (PCI) Gautam Lahiri lamented the death of journalist Gauri Lankesh and deemed it as a “sad day for democracy.”
While speaking to ANI about the murder, Lahiri said, “As the President of the Press Club of India, I think that it is a sad day for democracy and freedom of press. A journalist who exposed the wrong doing of the country was shot dead. It is difficult to accept this as a journalist.”
The PCI President urged the journalists around the country to come together in support of the murder. “I think all the journalists would come together and protest, and demand the arrest of the culprit,” he said. He demanded that the government should look into the matter and punish the culprit. He said, “The government should explain how this happened. They should book the culprit without further delay.”
The moment the news of Lankesh’s murder broke out many fellow journalists, activists and celebrities expressed their shock and anger over the incident.
“What happened was highly despicable. I expect the government of Karnataka to order an immediate probe and find the guilty and punish them,” journalist S. Venkat Narayan told ANI. Lauding Gauri’s effort and contribution in the field of journalism, Narayan said that the former was a secular, fearless journalist.
“Lot of local politicians had filled case against her. The point is if one does not agree with what a person is writing, then he/she has the right to go to the court and challenge her and seek justice in judicial manner,” he said.
Referring to the killing of activists like Kaliburgi, Govind Pansare, Narendra Dhabolkar and now Gauri Lankesh, another journalist Deepak Tiwari said that such incidents are not acceptable in a democracy.
“This is something that is not acceptable in a democracy, where we stand for free voice and freedom of expression. All journalists like us support journalists fighting for freedom of expression,” he said.
Tiwari said that the way Gauri was crusading the politics of communalism in the country is appreciable.
Senior journalist Mallikarjun Siddannavar also criticised the killing of Lankesh and said, “She was very talented and had journalistic ideology. Killing was a very cruel act. The people of Karnataka and all the journalists condemn this act.”
