Gauri Lankesh murder case: Accused claim innocence, say they were forced, bribed to confess

Bengaluru, Sep 30: One of the accused in the activist-journalist Gauri Lankesh murder case claimed that he is innocence and that he was offered Rs 25 lakhby cops to confess to committing the crime.

Another accused in the case, Manohar Edave, too claimed innocence and said that he too was forced to confess under threats to his family.

The two accused, Parashuram Waghmore and Manohar Edave, made these startling claims before the media while being escorted by the police to the city civil court in Bengaluru.

"SIT is trying to frame us. I don't know who Gauri Lankesh was. But now the SIT is forcing me to admit to the crime and offered me Rs 30 lakh. The police claim all the accused are linked. But I am seeing the other accused for the first time only after my arrest," said Waghmore.

"The police took my signature on blank sheets of paper and then recorded our statements. They threaten us saying they will frame my family members if I don't yield to their pressure tactics. The SIT is responsible for any harm caused to me or my family," added Waghmore.

It may be recalled that the SIT, which arrested 12 persons since September 5, 2017, when Gauri was shot dead at her Rajarajeshwari Nagar (Bengaluru) residence, had invoked the stringent Karnataka Control of Organised Crimes Act (KCOCA), 2000. It had also stated the murder was a well-planned act of "organised crime" involving a syndicate of highly indoctrinated and trained criminals. It claimed the arrests served as crucial links to murder of three other rationalists and left-wing activists-Narendra Dabholkar (2013), Govind Pansare (February 20, 2015) and M.M. Kalburgi (August 30, 2015).