Senior journalist Gauri Lankesh was shot dead in her house by unidentified assailants on Tuesday evening. The editor of Lankesh Patrike was found dead in her residence at Rajarajeshwari Nagar in Bengaluru. Speaking to reporters, Bengaluru Commissioner of Police, T. Suneel Kumar said the victim was found “in a blood of pool”. He further added that four empty cartridges were found at the crime scene. Kumar said the number of assailants who committed the crime is yet to be ascertained.
Lankesh, who had been a harsh critic of Hindutva politics, was convicted in a defamation case filed by MP Prahlad Joshi over an article published on January 23, 2008, alleging that some BJP leaders in the region were involved in a cheating case.