A Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the September 5, 2017 killing of journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh, 55, carried out its first arrest in the case on Friday. K T Naveen Kumar, 37, who was arrested on February 18 by the Bengaluru Police for illegal possession of bullets, has been named as the first accused in the case.
The SIT arrested Kumar, a resident of Maddur in Mandya, after informing a magistrate’s court in Bengaluru that it had found evidence of his involvement in the Gauri Lankesh murder in the course of the investigation into the illegal arms case for which he was arrested on February 18.
The SIT initially sought a
warrant for Kumar’s arrest in the Gauri Lankesh case — shortly after he was remanded in judicial custody in the illegal arms case — citing voluntary statements given by some of Kumar’s friends about his links to the Gauri Lankesh murder.
When Kumar was produced before the court of an additional chief metropolitan magistrate, the SIT gave the court a sealed copy of a confession statement given by him about his involvement in the murder. An assistant public prosecutor, Nirmala Rani, presented a remand plea to the court seeking police custody of Kumar for eight days in order to unearth the larger conspiracy and materials used in the crime.