Gauri Lankesh (55) , a senior journalist and a vocal anti-communal activist was shot dead in at her residence in Rajarajeshwari Nagar in Bengaluru. According to police officials she was shot dead from close range when she was standing at her house in Rajarajeswari Nagar. According to eye witnesses, the 55-year-old journalist was standing near the gate of her house when three men on a motor bike sprayed her with bullets. The incident took place at around 8.25pm. One bullet was directed at her head and two at her heart.
She ran the weekly Gauri ‘Lankesh Patrike,’ a Kannada tabloid, and was seen as a fearless, independent and outspoken journalist. She had been under attack from people with ideological differences.
Guari Lankesh’s assassination follows the same pattern as that of Dabholkar, Govind Pansare, and Kalburgi who were all strong champions of secularism. All these assassinations were linked to right wing Hindu supremacist Sangh Parivar groups. Sangh Parivar was responsible for the assassination of Mahatma Ganghi too.
Three other anti-communal activists were shot dead in similar fashion recently. Dabholkar (69) was shot dead in Pune, Maharashtra on August 20, 2013. Four bullets from a 7.65 mm countrymade pistol were fired on him. Pansare (81) was shot with five bullets from two 7.65 mm countrymade pistols on February 16, 2015. Kalburgi (77) was killed in Dharwad, Karnataka on August 30, 2015 — two bullets were fired from a 7.65 mm countrymade pistol.