'By Garlanding Gauri's Killers, They Have Emboldened Them': Kavitha Lankesh

"If Gauri was alive today, she would have continued being a journalist and not bow down to the state," says Kavitha.

Accused in Gauri Lankesh case were felicitated by Hindu righ-wing group members.

(Photo: Kamran Akhter/The Quint)

"I am Gauri. There are thousands of Gauris and we're all Gauris."

This was the slogan that reverberated through streets in Delhi and Bengaluru in 2017, when journalist Gauri Lankesh was shot dead by motorbike-borne assailants in front of her residence.

Seven years later, as the trial still continues, a sessions court in Bengaluru granted bail to eight accused on 9 October. Sixteen of the 18 accused of Gauri's murder are now out on bail.

The accused recently let out on bail are: Amol Kale, Rajesh D Bangera, Vasudev Suryawanshi, Rushikesh Devadekar, Parshuram Waghmore, Ganesh Miskin, Amith Ramachandra Baddi and Manohar Yadave.

"You have no right to take a life; and after taking a life, being honoured like this! It was shocking and very disturbing for my entire family, especially for my young daughter, who asked me - 'What is this Amma, what's happening?'," Gauri's sister Kavitha Lankesh told The Quint.

Gauri Lankesh, a journalist and writer was killed in Bengaluru in 2017.

(Photo: Accessed by The Quint)

A Hero’s Welcome For The Accused

Two days after being out on bail, two of the accused — Parshuram Waghmore, who was reportedly the one who gunned down Gauri, and Manohar Yadave — were welcomed by local members of Sri Ram Sena with garlands, orange shawls, and chants of celebration after they returned to their hometown in Vijayapura, Karnataka.

Another shocking development came soon when Srikanth Pangarkar, an accused in the murder joined Shinde-led Shiv Sena in Jalna, Maharashtra.

It's empowering them. When Gauri died, the Investigating Officer found a diary with a probable list of around 40 people under target, including names like the late Girish Karnad....It's been very disturbing - just like in Bilkis Bano's case and the Kathua case, where rapists were released and garlanded. What is the message they're sending across?

Kavitha Lankesh to The Quint

Accused in Gauri's case recently let out on bail were honoured by Sri Ram Sena group members.

(Photo: X/Twitter)

Kavitha also said that since Congress put out a statement they should go a step ahead and file an First Information Report (FIR) against those who honoured the accused. "Their motive should be questioned. And we know what the motive is. It's saying that you're Hindutva heroes," she remarked.

Gauri used to write extensively against the rising Hindu right-wing nationalism; through her work she took on the system and the status quo.

Talking about the chain of events that eventually led to Gauri's killing, Kavitha said:

"I think it was her constant fight against Hindutva, one of the speeches, a lot of things came together. It was the every day, when she was fighting the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the right-wing ideology all the time. The final thing was apparently the speech that she gave in Mangalore, which was completely misunderstood."

All these accused were booked under various Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections, the Indian Arms Act and the Karnataka Control of Organized Crimes Act, 2000.

On 4 September this year, before the 7th anniversary of Gauri’s murder, four more accused were given bail — Bharat Kurane, Srikanth Pangarkar, Sujith Kumar and Sudhanva Gondhalekar — again, on the basis of delay in the progress in the trial.

On 16 July this year, accused KT Naveen Kumar, Suresh HL and Amit Degwekar were also given bail. These petitioners cited the High Court’s order of 7 December 2023, when it granted the first bail in the case to N Mohan Nayak.

They also submitted that 527 witnesses had been cited by the prosecution but only 130 witnesses had been examined since the trial began in July 2022.

Hence, Kavitha has been fighting and pressuring the government to make a case for fast-track court or a special court.

Gauri's case also had also opened many other links. It brought forth damning facts such as links of these accused to the murders of academic MM Kalburgi, CPI leader Govind Pansare, and rationalist Narendra Dabholkar.

The October bail order also mentioned Dr. Veerendra Tavde, who led the organised crime syndicate and added more accused to the group.

The order mentions the 'organised crime syndicate' under the leadership of Dr Veerendra Tavde.

(Photo: Accessed by The Quint)

'No Longer Here But She Still Keeps Me Busy'

When this reporter met Kavitha in 2019 at a protest site in Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, she had said that Gauri had become "a source of strength over the years." Has anything changed over the years?

"It's not like before Gauri('s death) I wasn't political or voicing out my opinions. I was doing it through my films. But with the kind of shock and wake-up call that happened with Gauri...in fact, I was talking to my friend about it this morning. When she was alive, she used to tell me - 'go to this protest, come with me' or 'you go and do it, because I'm busy with my edition,' and I would often say no, my life is different. But now, she makes sure that every week ,I have something or the else going on in life."

Kavitha Lankesh to The Quint

On being asked if Gauri would have continued being a journalist if she were alive, Kavitha was sure that Gauri wouldn't have bowed down.

"When she died, she had 80 cases against her from various right-wing groups. I think by this time, it would have been 200 cases or something. But she wouldn't have got bogged down, she would have stuck to her ideas and fought for a democratic, peaceful and harmonious country."