7 reasons why the probe into Gauri Lankesh murder is a non-starter

At the crime scene, strangely the dog squad was missing.

There are 7 reasons that we lay down here to state why the probe into the murder of journalist, Gauri Lankesh remains a non-starter. While at first it was stated that the murder appeared similar to that of M M Kalburgi, the problem was that the police had nothing to back that statement.

While those were mere statements at first to wade away a hounding press, here is the breakdown why the probe at the moment is a blind one and appears to be hitting a dead end.

Before laying down the points, let us see for now what evidence the police have with them. They have blurry CCTV footage in which one man wearing a helmet is seen shooting. There is absolutely no clarity on whether there was another person.

The police are relying on a light flash on the car. The police assume that there was one more person waiting on a motor-cycle for the shooter. It is assumed that after the killing the assailant escaped on the motor-cycle. For now there is no CCTV footage of the second person and it remains an assumption.

The police is also undertaking an exercise called tower dump by which they are collecting details of the calls made around the area of the crime. However this is a tedious exercise considering that the police will have to analyse every call made in that area.

Why the probe is a non-starter:

• Soon after the incident the police took 25 minutes to reach the crime scene. In the meantime several people have moved around the crime scene. They have even entered the premises of the deceased. A lot of crucial evidence could have been moved or misplaced.
• All those persons who claimed to be the eye-witnesses have locked their homes for the fear of being examined. Many have gone to other places.
• At the crime scene, strangely the dog squad was missing.
• The area of the crime scene is notorious for chain snatching cases. There is normally police deployment in the area, but this time it was missing. All police were deployed for the BJP's bike rally.
• It took the police over four hours to retrieve the CCTV footage. What they managed to retrieve is unclear.
• Immediately after the incident the police sealed entry-exit points. However they forgot to instruct the cops at the border whom to keep a tab on. In the absence of a specific instruction, the police did not know whom to stop.
• The biggest drawback at the start of the probe was the lack of coordination.

OneIndia News