Bangalore (Karnataka): The right-wing Hindutva outfit, Sanatan Sanstha, on Thursday said it had nothing to do with the murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh and said that ideological differences cannot be considered a parameter for accusing them of the murder.
Chetan Rajhans, national spokesman for the Sanatan Sanstha, said, “The organisations with the Naxal-links are accusing them of the unfortunate murder of Gauri Lankesh. The ideological differences between Hindu activists and leftists cannot be denied. However, to conclude that Hindu activists are guilty for the murder is unfair.”
He added that the political outfit has always taken a legal and democratic route to fight the differences.
Alleging that “Leftists” are falsely implicating hem, the group also demanded the SIT be allowed to do its job without any pressure.
Rajhans also made a plea to the Karnataka government for a fair probe.
“On what basis are a few politicians, pseudo-liberals and journalists falsely naming Hindutva organisations, when not an iota of evidence against them in this case has come to light, or any such clarification hasn’t been made by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) appointed by the State Government?” Rajhans questioned.
He added, “It is our appeal to these people that instead of making baseless allegations, the Karnataka SIT should be allowed to investigate the case in an unbiased manner without any political interference.”
He also pointed to the pending murder cases of Hindu activists and questioned the lack of investigation on them.
“A great uproar is being caused over the murder of Gauri Lankesh, but what about the multiple killings of Hindu activists in the State that continue to remain unsolved? The murder cases of Hindu activists like Dr. Chittaranjan and Timmappa Naik have still not been solved; but everybody maintains radio silence on it,” he said.
They also said that the investigation should not end up as it did in the case of Narendra Dabholkhar and Govind Pansare.
“Today, botched up investigations carried out in the murder cases of Pansare and Dabholkar after succumbing to pressure from their families, are stuck in the limbo. As a result, the courts of law have passed strictures against the Maharashtra Police. We are cautioning the Karnataka Police well in advance about facing similar plight in the murder case of Gauri Lankesh. It is imperative to thoroughly investigate all aspects such as Naxalism, family disputes, property disputes, local fights etc. in the murder case of Gauri Lankesh,” he said.
Gauri Lankesh was shot dead outside her home in Bangalore on September 5. (ANI)