‘Kalburgi’s murderer helped Gauri’s killer’

Bengaluru: Investigators in the killing of journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh have stumbled upon a common link between her shooter and murderer of M.M. Kalburgi in 2015.

Parshuram Ashok Wagmare alias Parashu, 26, a serial offender from Sindhagi in Karnataka’s Vijayapura district, was taken to Lankesh’s house in Bengaluru on a bike by the killer of Kalburgi, police sources said on Friday.

“Wagmare rode pillion to a man who is Prof. Kalburgi’s killer. He is on the run, but we should get him soon,” said a police source.

Wagmare along with five other accused has been arrested for their alleged involvement in Lankesh’s murder on September 5 last year and conspiracy to kill writer Prof. K.S. Bhagwan by the special investigation team (SIT) and is currently in judicial custody at Bengaluru Central Prison.

Wagmare has allegedly confessed to his crime and told investigators that he was tasked for the “ideological” killing by Pune-based engineer Amol Kale.

Kale, who is also under arrest for Lankesh’s killing, is a former convener of the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti (HJS) which is an affiliate of right wing outfit Sanathan Sanstha in Ponda, South Goa.

To confirm Wagmare’s confession, the SIT arranged a “strategic” chance encounter between him and Kale on Wednesday night, a day before they were produced in a local court.

An unprepared Kale, who had been maintaining a stoic silence before the SIT, was reportedly taken aback when he saw Wagmare, said a source.

“He shouted and banged his head on a wall when he saw Wagmare, who was also in police custody along with him and other accused,” he said.

“When Kale saw Wagmare, he knew that the latter would have spilled the beans to the SIT,” said the source.

According to the SIT, Kale had strategically distanced himself from the right wing outfit after the 2008 Malegaon blast to avoid. However, he was  still involved in their activities, especially in “talent spotting”.

“Kale had allegedly recruited Wagmare to kill Gauri and had trained him in shooting. This was Wagmare’s first murder,” said the officer.

According to sources, Amit Degwekar, a resident of an ashram in Sindhudurg in Maharashtra who is also under arrest in the Gauri murder, is another person to be questioned, police said.

He was arrested along with Kale and Manohar Edave of Vijayapura district in the third week of May for their alleged involvement in the conspiracy to kill Prof. Bhagwan.

“Degwekar was involved in the publication of magazine, ‘Sanatan Prabhat’, and he used to live in the ashram. How and why did he get involved in an alleged ideological murder needs to be investigated,” said the source.

The arrest of K.T. Naveen alias Hotte Manja on March 2 for allegedly providing logistical support to Gauri killers was the first breakthrough in the case.