Mobike used in Gauri Lankesh killing traced to Vijayapura district

BENGALURU: The motorcycle that the alleged killers of journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh rode to her house in RR Nagar, Bengaluru, on the night of September 5, 2017, when she was shot dead, is now in the possession of the Special Investigation Team probing the case, sources said.
The blue-black Hero Honda Passion bike was seized from an undisclosed place in Vijayapura district recently.
Preliminary investigations revealed Manohar Edave from Vijayapura, one of the 11 accused arrested in the case, was using the motorbike for a long time, but it was not clear in whose name it was registered.“We have seized the motorbike and are verifying documents and other related evidence. The motorbike was being used by friends and relatives of Edave,” a senior SIT officer said.
Sources said they have no idea how the motorbike reached Vijayapura from Bengaluru after the killing. “We suspect it was transported to and from Bengaluru by truck. But we don’t think Edave would ride such a long distance, for the simple reason that he would have to pass many toll booths where CCTV cameras would be installed. Also, it is tedious to cover 530km on a motorbike,” another SIT officer said.
Ganesh Miskin from Hubballi is suspected to have ridden the bike to Gauri Lankesh’s house, with Sindagi youth Parashuram Waghmore, who allegedly pulled the trigger on the 56-year-old journalist, on the pillion.
With the search for the bike used in the killing concluding, SIT sleuths are now focusing on another major hurdle to building an effective case: locating and seizing the 7.65mm country-made pistol used in the crime.
Only Amol Kale, one of the 11 arrested accused and suspected kingpin, knows about the fate of the pistol, SIT sources said. “According to a statement by Waghmore, he handed the pistol back to Miskin when they reached the residence of Suresh Kumar, another accused, in Seegehalli on the night of September 5 last year.
As told by Kale, Suresh hid the pistol inside his kitchen. A few days later, Kale came to Seegehalli and took the pistol. Suresh claimed that he was not in his Seegehalli residence when Kale came to collect the pistol. “It is true Kale knows where the pistol is but he is not saying much,” SIT sources said.