In 'Killer Karnataka," was Gauri Lankesh set to expose nexus of corruption?

The Committee to Protect Journalists said in a report 2016 that 27 journalists had been killed “with complete impunity” in India since 1992.

Another unfortunate death in Karnataka and this time a journalist. Serious questions are being raised about the law and order situation in Karnataka today. The deaths of RSS activist Rudresh and M M Kalburgi a rationalist from North Karnataka has cast a cloud over the state's handling of law and order.

Taken into account the number of such incidents that take place in the state some have coined the termed "Killer Karnataka."

A senior Indian journalist and activist shot dead outside her home in Bengaluru. Gauri Lankesh was the editor of a Kannada-language tabloid that has frequently been critical of Right Wing and Hindu organization.

Police said Lankesh, who was in her 50s, was shot by three assailants as she was entering the property on Sept 5, 2017 evening and died shortly after. Officers said it was too early to speculate on the motive. Gauri never spoke of threat to her life, says T Suneel Kumar, Bengaluru police commissioner.

A small group of protesters formed outside her home as news of the killing spread. She is the second scholar-rationalist to be assassinated in Karnataka in less than two years after former vice-chancellor of Hampi University M M Kalburgi.

Key points:

• Journalist Gauri Lankesh was shot dead in Bengaluru Sept 5,2017
• Ms Lankesh was fired at 7 times outside her home, 4 bullets hit her
• The 55-year-old was found lying on her porch by neighbours
• In 2016, she was convicted in a defamation case filed by MP Prahlad Joshi, who had objected to a report against BJP leaders.
• She had expressed views against her 'own' people on social media pointing to serious differences with her ideological friends.
• She had shared with friends how she was working on a series of stories exposing the nexus of corruption in her Karnataka. The stories were expected to be out after some time.
• Even before the police could come out with a theory, the CM Siddaramaiah and his ministers issued loaded statements against journalists who profess or support or identify with the 'nationalist' thought.

Law and order in Killer Karnataka:

• Mar 15, 2017: A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member of the Bommanahalli municipal council and Dalit leader - Srinivas Prasad alias Kithaganahalli Vasu was bludgeoned to death in Bengaluru .
• In the last two years 10 RSS-VHP-BJP members in Karnataka have been killed. Prasad's murder is the tenth in the series of politically-motivated killings.

Killing of writers and thinkers:

• In 2015: Karnataka, an outspoken scholar and critic of religious groups, M M Kalburgi, was also shot dead by unidentified assailants.
• The Supreme Court lambasted the Siddaramaiah govt for lack of progress in the investigation.

Officers who died suspiciously:

• Anurag Tewari: A 2007 batch Karnataka cadre IAS officer, Anurag Tewari was found dead on his birthday on May 17, 2017 in Lucknow's Hazratganj area. He was a resident of Bahraich and was the commissioner of the food civil supplies and consumer affairs department in Bengaluru. His friends indicated that he was under pressure for taking on some corrupt elements in the state.
• DK Ravi: He was found hanging by the fan in the bedroom of his private apartment in Tavarekere in South Bengaluru in Nov 2015. While it appears to be a suicide, Ravi was known for taking on the local sand mafia of Karnataka, and there are rumors of his death being linked to his aggressive stance on the mafia's most powerful men. The 36-year-old D K Ravi was the Additional Commissioner on deputation with the Commercial Tax department
• S P Mahantesh: An administrative officer in the Karnataka government, he exposed irregularities in the allocation process of co-operative societies. He was beaten up by rods and succumbed to his injuries a few days later.
• Mallikarjun Bande: An Indian Police Sub Inspector who served in Karnataka Police. During a gun fight between the police and a wanted underworld sharpshooter Munna Darbadar, Bande was shot in the head by Munna. The only consolation was that the killer also perished during the same.
• Kallappa Handibagh: On July 5, 2017, Kallappa Handibagh, Deputy Superintendent of Police of Chikkamagaluru, who was accused of taking Rs. 10 lakh as bribe to release a man involved in gambling, was found dead at his relative's place at Muragod in Belagavi.
• MK Ganapathy: On July 8, 2017, MK Ganapathy, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, was found hanging in a hotel. His suicide led to a political controversy as the 51-year-old officer, in his suicide note, had accused state home minister KJ George and two police officers of harassing him. George was forced to resign amid opposition protests but he was reinstated later. MK Ganapathy was a Deputy Superintendent of Police in Karnataka's Kodagu district. KJ George will be investigated by the CBI to determine if he tortured MK Ganapathy.
• Raghavendra: Raghavendra, a police inspector, was found dead in his office at a police station in Kolar, around 70 km from state capital Bengaluru. He allegedly shot himself with his service revolver on Oct 18, 2016.

A loaded statement:

• Karnaka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said he was 'Shocked to learn about murder of tall progressive force and senior journalist Gauri Lankesh. Such cold blooded acts deserve highest condemnation.'
• Later he also said the state govt would provide protection to all 'progressive' journalists. The question being asked is how will the state government identify and determine who is a 'progreesive' journalist and who is not?
• This comment of the CM is a clear case of singling out a certain section of journalists who are ideologically inclined to the nationalist thought or do not identify themselves with the incorrectly termed 'progressives'.

An early view:

• Even before the police could get any clues, Karnataka Law Minister TB Jayachandra remarked that there are similarities with the 2015 murder of renowned scholar M M Kalburgi, who was shot dead by two bikers who knocked on his door in Dharwad, around 400 km from Bengaluru. The two-year-old murder is yet to be solved. The links between the two murders cannot be ruled out, said Jayachandra.

Committee to protect journalists:

• The Committee to Protect Journalists said in a report 2016 that 27 journalists had been killed "with complete impunity" in India since 1992.
• It listed another 25 murders it was investigating to ascertain a connection to the journalist's work.

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