Bengaluru: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the murder of journalist and activist Gauri Lankesh has sought details from the police about all abandoned two-wheelers across the city in a effort to track down the motorcycles used by her killers.
The SIT officials suspect that the assailants may have abandoned their vehicles fearing ‘naka bandi’ in the city following the murder on September 5, before boarding another vehicle to escape.
On Tuesday, the SIT officials held a coordination meeting with mobile service providers to discuss details of the call detail records (CDRs) and tower dumps that they have sought from them. Many service providers are yet to respond, leading to a delay in making headway in the investigations, a senior police officer said.
Earlier in the day, Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy said the SIT was going in the right direction and that the government was not interfering in their work.
“National leaders of the BJP should stop giving statements such as how the Congress government did not provide security to Gauri Lankesh in spite of she asking for it. Gauri never asked for police security and that is why we had not provided it. We are confident that the SIT will soon arrest the assailants,” he said.
Ready to handover to CBI
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah made it clear that the State government was open to handing the probe into the murder of Gauri Lankesh to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and he was awaiting the progress of the ongoing investigation.
“The government has an open mind on the issue (handing over the probe to CBI). To take a decision we have to wait for the progress being made by the Special Investigation team (SIT) which is already probing the murder,” the chief minister said on Tuesday.
