Journalist Gauri Lankesh, who led crusade against communalism, shot dead

coastaldigest.com news network
September 5, 2017

Bengaluru, Sept 5: Veteran journalist and peace activist Gauri Lankesh (55) who led a crusade against saffron extremists and communalism in Karnataka for decades was on Tuesday shot dead by unidentified gunmen near her residence in Bengaluru.

The incident took place within a few days after the second anniversary of the assassination of M M Kalburgi, a rationalist and former vice-chancellor of Kannada University in Hampi, who also had earned the wrath of Hindutva extremists through his writings. The manner in which Gauri was killed was eerily similar to the way in which Kalburgi was killed.

According to reports, at around 7: 00 pm, the gunmen shot at Gauri and wounded her fatally before escaping from the scene.  Police said that Gauri was getting out of her car to open the gate of her house, when assailants shot her. The shots penetrated her chest and she was killed on the spot, reports said.

Gauri was the daughter of revolutionary journalist P Lankesh. She was a veteran editor and columnist in both Kannada and English, and was a vocal critic of the right wing.

Last year, she was convicted of criminal defamation in two cases by the Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) Court in Hubballi on Monday. Dharwad BJP MP Prahallad Joshi and BJP leader Umesh Dhushi had filed individual defamation cases against Lankesh in objection to a report on BJP leaders she had published in her periodical on January 23, 2008.

According to the police, Gauri left her office - Gauri Lankesh Patrike - at Gandhi Bazar around 7 pm. She reached her home around 7.45 pm.

As she was about to open the main door, three assailants called her. As she stepped out, they pumped four bullets from point-blank range. The bullets pierced her abdomen and chest.

Neighbours rushed out on hearing gunshots and Gauri's screams and called an ambulance.

"The house is located in a secluded area near Ideal Homes in Rajarajeshwarinagar. There was no immediate help after the attack," said Shivasundar, Gauri's close aide.

Police Commissioner T Suneel Kumar said it is yet to be ascertained whether the assailants were following Gauri or waiting near her residence.

"Four cartridges have been found at the spot. There are two CCTV cameras at the house and the footage will be examined after forensic officials inspect the spot. Three teams have been formed to nab the assailants, including one headed by joint commissioner (crime). We are also checking other CCTV cameras in the area," Kumar said.

The police said that the modus operandi in Gauri's murder is similar to that of Kalburgi case.

Gauri is the eldest daughter of revolutionary Kannada journalist and thinker P Lankesh. Gauri was known for her writings against the RSS and the BJP.

She had spearheaded several movements in the state and was instrumental in facilitating the surrender of Maoists who wanted to return to the mainstream.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said, "Soon after the police submit a preliminary report, we will determine the nature of the probe.”

The chief minister clarified that Gauri had not sought police protection and that there were no intelligence reports indicating a threat to her life.

After visiting the spot, Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy said, "She (Gauri) was staying alone and her mother was with her sister Kavitha in Uttarahalli. The officials told me that she met DGP R K Dutta three times. However, she never shared any information about a threat to her life. In fact, she called me on Saturday and said that she would meet on Monday. But she did not turn up,'' Reddy said.

The body was shifted to the Victoria Hospital for postmortem. A family member said the funeral would be held on Wednesday.

Comments

ayman kudroli
 - 
Tuesday, 5 Sep 2017

wipe out namardonki fouj club of bachelors what  akbaruddin owaisi said once its true ban rss terrorist org

Habeeb Puttur
 - 
Tuesday, 5 Sep 2017

Definately behind this murder KP Bhat and Raghu Swamy... arrest them soon...just check last week's gauri lankesh pathrike main page, what she wrote....and about whom...

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Business Desk
June 2,2020

The covid-19 lockdown has thrown wedding plans in disarray in coastal Karnataka like all other activities involving a crowd of people. While many people chose to postpone the scheduled and about to be scheduled weddings, some are going ahead with scheduled plans and holding weddings with no more than 50 guests as per the guidelines issued by the government of Karnataka. 

The government may relax the norms and allow participation of more guests in the future. However, holding wedding ceremonies will be a new challenge when people are returning to a ‘new normalcy.’ Compared to the traditional wedding ceremonies of the region, marriages in the time of Covid-19 are expected to be smaller as the organizers have to adhere to the safety protocol and safe distancing norms. Given this situation, to limit risks and ensure safety, families now will have to consider wedding planners to help them celebrate their weddings.

“The postponed weddings will take place in the coming days as the lockdown is being relaxed in a phased manner. However, it won’t be like our traditional weddings. There won’t be 3000 guests.  Government directives will be have followed. We expect change in trend from big fat weddings to a small, close family, picture perfect weddings,” says Sartaj Beary, Managing Partner, Zawaj Weddings and Events.

“Our curetted packages will take care of wedding invitations, outdoor venue, premium catering, bridal make up, mehendi function, photography, videography, décor, thermal scanning systems, hand sanitizers and N 95 masks etc. We hope with our experiences we can offer stress free celebration to the families while we plan everything from scratch as per client requirement,” he assures.

“Ultimately, our society has to adopt an innovative way of marriage. At this point, we can say that any wedding in 2020 will look different as the novel coronavirus has disrupted the weddings everywhere. We know it is a big milestone for families and we at Zawaj are here to assure families that we can help a stress free wedding,” he adds.

New Normal Era Weddings

In the ‘new normal era’, weddings across the world will be totally different from what we used to see before the pandemic. People need to be cautious while attending mass gathering and it is important. Gone are the days of closed AC venues. Outdoor weddings will be the future, where seating are spread out and space between tables, stage, food counters will be maximum as per  safe distancing protocols. 

Wedding planners and caterers will have to ensure systematic safety protocol, safe and responsible operations, preparation of the food, event crew and vendors safe zone, sanitized kitchen, transportations. Even buffet settings will change to include smaller but multiple cuisines, self serving stations, markings on line to maintaining safe distance at the food counters.

More importantly, venue has to be prepared as per the government instructions. Things like disinfection and sanitization, hygiene, ample toilet facilities, hand wash, thermometer scans, masks, sanitizing stations should be taken care of. People from all walks of life will embrace this form of marriage. The services of wedding planners will be most opted in future.

CONTACT:

WASIM : 9972442344

SARTAJ : 9740792344

FOLLOW US ON: 

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
May 15,2020

Bengalur, May 15: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister Dr CN Ashwath Narayan on Friday said that stern action will be taken against the persons responsible for organising the village temple fair in Ramanagara district.

"Stern action will be taken against the person responsible for organising the festival. This should not have happened," the Deputy CM said.

Flouting all social distancing norms, people had gathered in large numbers for a temple fair in Kolagondanahalli village of Ramanagara. People were even not wearing masks.

They had taken permission for gathering from Panchayat Development Officer NC Kalmatt.

Kalmatt has been suspended by Ramanagara Deputy Commissioner following a report by the Tehsildar.

Meanwhile, 45 more COVID-19 cases have been reported from Karnataka, taking the total number of coronavirus cases in the state to 1,032 on Friday, according to the state Health Department.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
February 2,2020

Bengaluru, Feb 2: A woman from Bengaluru lost Rs 2.8 lakh to a 'foreign friend' who promised her gifts, including gold jewellery and foreign currency.

Priya, 37, of Banashankari III Stage, told police a man named Bright Wills from England befriended her on social media in December 2019.

On December 20, Wills said he would send gold ornaments and some British pounds as gifts to celebrate their friendship and took her postal address.

“A woman claiming to be an official from the customs office, Delhi, called me on December 21. She told me there was a courier from England in my name and I should pay Rs 75,000 tow ards customs clearance. I believed her and transferred Rs 75,000 to a bank account number provided by her. On December 23, another woman called and said gold ornaments had been sent to me by courier and I had to pay Rs 2.1 lakh towards the paperwork. I transferred the money to another account number mentioned by her," Priya told police.

"On December 25, I received an email which said I should make a surety deposit of Rs 4.3 lakh within 48 hours or else the courier would be sent back to its original destination. I realised I had been cheated by Wills and others. Till now, I have paid Rs 2.8 lakh to them," she claimed.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.