2 more arrested in Gauri Lankesh murder case

The Special Investigation Team probing journalist Gauri Lankesh murder case said on Monday it has arrested two more suspects.

The two -- Amit Raghavendra Baddi and Ganesh Miski -- both residents of Hubballi, were arrested on Sunday, special investigating officer M N Anucheth said.

He said they were produced before a metropolitan court, which remanded them in SIT custody till August 6 for further investigation.

Anucheth did not disclose their role in the crime.

However, some police sources said Baddi and Miski had helped in recceing the area before Lankesh was shot dead on September 5 last year.

Baddi was said to be a goldsmith by profession, while Miski was into incense stick manufacturing business.

Nine suspects have been arrested in the case so far.

Lankesh was shot dead right in front of her Rajarajeshwari Nagar residence in Bengaluru.

Besides Baddi and Miski, the SIT has arrested K T Naveen Kumar, Amol Kale, Amit Degwekar, Parashuram Waghmare, Sujith Kumar, Manohar Edave and Mohan Naik. Waghmare had allegedly shot dead Lankesh.

Lankesh, a Left-leaning journalist-activist was said to have raised the hackles of the Hindu right with her strong views against hardline Hindutva.

Police suspects their involvement in the killing of rationalist M M Kalburgi in Karnataka's Dharwad. It is also trying to ascertain if they had any role in the killing of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar and Communist Party of India leader Govind Pansare in Maharashtra.