Gauri killing: No headway after questioning over 100 people; SIT now grills Kunigal Giri

News Network
September 15, 2017

Bengaluru, Sept 15: Further intensifying the probe into the murder of journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) has commenced interrogation of rowdy sheeter Kunigal Giri and six of his associates, currently in judicial custody, to see if they have information on key arms smugglers in the city.

More than 100 persons from across the State have been questioned by the police but there has been no breakthrough.

The probe team is aggressively working on identifying all individuals in the city and state who are in possession with country-made pistols chambered with a 7.65 mm bore.

The team has listed out people who are involved in illegal arms trade and will question them to ascertain how many such pistols have been sold and are in use illegally in the city and its outskirts.

Kunigal Giri (35), a native of Kunigal, has several aliases such as Girish, Modur Giri, Ashwath and Prashanth Raja. He is involved in nearly 70 cases in Bengaluru, including 30 cases of dacoities and robberies, and in most of his heists, he brandished pistols and threatened his victims.

He is also involved in numerous such cases in Mangaluru, Belagavi, Hassan, Tumakuru, Ballari and Bengaluru Rural. The CCB police had earlier arrested Giri in 2008 after booking him in 40 cases of dacoities and robberies.

A police team has also gone to Vijayapura jail to question an illegal arms dealer who had reportedly sold over two dozen pistols in Bengaluru after procuring it from his source in Bihar.

The police, over a period of time, had recovered 15 pistols out of the 26 accounted for according to the dealer’s claims, but the police could not trace 11 pistols.

One of the traced pistols was used in APMC president Kadabagere Srinivas’ shooting a few months ago in Yelahanka, the police said. The police said Gauri’s assailants could have procured the pistol from these rowdies.

A majority of rowdies, including those in the underworld, use 7.65 mm pistols in the state as ammunition is available easily in the market. Police records state that history-sheeters like Ravi Pujari, Hebbet Manja and their associates have been using these pistols for a long time. Central Crime Branch police have seized 10 such guns from Hebbet Manja and his associates.

Progress so far

SIT has learnt there are no professional shooters lodged in any of the jails in the state.

Data of around 10 lakh phone lines that were active, hours before Gauri’s murder, have been collected by SIT from mobile towers of Basavanagudi and Rajarajeshwari Nagar.

SIT has learnt calls were even made to Maharashtra, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

Around 32 local residents have spoken over phone to people out of the state.

Of these, two were professors and the rest were all private company employees.

The SIT team also visited lodges in the city to collect names of the visitors who booked rooms before September 5 and vacated them on that day.

A mobile phone was recovered from near Gauri’s house which has been handed over to the FSL who are yet to examine it.

Scotland Yard officials join probe

Meanwhile, two senior officials from Scotland Yard have come to help the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing Gauri Lankesh’s murder on Wednesday.

The two, said to be experts in technical investigation, have been apprised of all information, developments and investigation progress till date, regarding the case.

The CID had sought the help of Scotland Yard in Prof Kalburgi’s murder case as well, and presume they would be of help in this case too, a senior police officer said.

Comments

Danish
 - 
Friday, 15 Sep 2017

First and foremost failure is not given police protection to Gauri Lankesh. Now police searching in dark and heading nowhere. they dont know which way they have to go to solve the issue.. Total failure siddu

Hari
 - 
Friday, 15 Sep 2017

Instead of blaming siddaramaiah govt, check what nda did. They are the rrot reason for killing and still keeping silence

Mohan
 - 
Friday, 15 Sep 2017

Its a big shame to siddu govt

Kumar
 - 
Friday, 15 Sep 2017

We have hope only in scotland yard

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News Network
May 10,2020

Mangaluru, May 10: A young photographer has drowned in River Phalguni near Maravoor on the outskirts of the city.

The victim has been identified as Kaushik, 22, who was working for Diya Studio in Kavoor. A resident of Kavoor, he was the only son of his mother.

The tragedy occurred when he had been to the river along with four friends to collect freshwater snails.

It is learnt that local residents rushed to the spot when Kaushik’s friends raised alarm. However, they could not rescue him.

Kaushik’s body was retrieved from the water after sometime. A case has been registered at Kavoor police station.

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News Network
March 5,2020

Bengaluru, Mar 5: Amulya Leona, the 19-year-old woman who captured a nation’s attention by shouting full-throated slogans, allegedly in support of Pakistan, at a rally in Bengaluru, has reportedly held her composure under grilling by the Special Investigating Team (SIT).

The woman was arrested after her speech to an audience of protesters against the Citizenship Amendment Act on February 19, and was slapped with sedition charges.

Sources in the police said Amulya Leona seemed to be absolutely normal during interrogation by senior cops, unlike most other persons in such circumstances.

Not once throughout the grilling nor in judicial custody did she break down.

Amulya is said to have defended herself on charges that she shouted pro-Pakistan slogans. She made it clear that by speaking out at the rally at Freedom House, she did not mean to support the enemy country and that she was not against India.

Lower-rung officers said Amulya Leona seemed to be considerably influenced by the late firebrand activist Gowri Lankesh, who was shot dead in 2017.

In fact, the policewomen to whose charge she was entrusted right after she was arrested are said to have heaved a sigh of relief when she handed over to custody of prison staff.

An urban legend going around in lower-rung police circles is that Amulya Leona attended the funeral of Gowri Lankesh and fainted near where the late activist was buried. “It’s impossible for a 19-year-old to show such grit. We have seen hardcore criminals breaking down in custody. Forget about breaking down, Amulya Leona is becoming stronger,” they explain.

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Media Release
March 12,2020

Manipal, Mar 12: Team WGSHA is proud to announce that the culinary museum in WGSHA has been listed in Limca Book of Records as India's First Living Culinary Arts Museum.

Limca Book of Records (LBR) is a catalogue of achievements made by Indians, at home and abroad in diverse fields of human endeavour. LBR is a celebration of exemplary exploits and recognizes accomplishments such as firsts, inventions, discoveries, honours, awards and the truly extraordinary.

Chef Thirugnanasambantham, Principal of WGSHA, while thanking MAHE and ITC Leadership for extending all support towards instituting this museum in Manipal and WGSHA, also appreciated and thanked all those who have directly or indirectly helped towards setting up this museum in Manipal.

"The process for WGSHA's culinary museum to make an entry into the popular Limca Book of Records started almost six months back and after validation by LBR recently, has been listed in the book of records. We are glad that we could be the first of its kind in such endeavour and we also hope to be in Guinness World Records soon", said Chef Thiru.

"We are indeed grateful to Michelin-starred Indian celebrity Chef Vikas Khanna, the founder and curator of this museum, who had this idea of establishing a culinary museum and donated thousands of kitchen tools and equipment worth millions of dollars to this museum for preserving the history of India's rich tradition of culinary arts and to educate the future generations. Chef Vikas Khanna, 'Distinguished Alumnus' of WGSHA, being very desirous of making such a museum in India, what better place it would be than in his own Alma Mater!", he said on the background of having the museum.

Chef Thiru mentioned that Udupi, popular for the famous 'Udupi Cuisine', and being a temple town, is adjacent to International University Town of Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE).

MAHE is home to thousands of international students and visitors. With a great heritage of Udupi, combined with the large number of Indian and International students residing in and around Manipal, it was very apt for the college to create a museum for today's Indian youth and the International visitors to understand the rich culinary heritage of India, through the priceless kitchen tools and equipment donated by Chef Vikas Khanna.

"Has placed WGSHA in the global culinary map and we are proud to have joined all such efforts to preserve the history of cuisines and cultures across the world", said Chef Thiru.

The culinary art academic block housing the museum was opened in April 2018, spread approximately over 25,000 sq ft and is shaped in the form of a giant pot very similar to the ones found in Harappa.

There are historical as well as regular household items such as plates made by the Portuguese in India, a 100-year-old ladle used to dole out food at temples and bowls dating to the Harappan era, an old seed sprinkler, an ancient Kashmiri tea brewer known as 'samovar', vessels from the Konkan, Udupi and Chettinad regions, apart from a large collection of rolling pins, utensils of all shapes and sizes, tea strainers of different types etc.

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