Priyank Kharge alleges Sangh connection behind Gauri Lankesh and Kalburgi murders

Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge has leveled serious allegations that individuals linked to the Sangh Parivar were behind the murders of journalist Gauri Lankesh and Kannada scholar M.M. Kalburgi. He assured that those responsible for these killings would be pushed behind bars within the next six months.

Speaking at the state council of the Muslim Youth League in Ernakulam, Kerala, the Congress leader stated that the Karnataka government is closely monitoring these cases and is making efforts to bring the accused to justice. Referring to the murders of Kalburgi, Lankesh, and rationalist Narendra Dabholkar, he alleged that people associated with the Sangh were responsible for these killings.

On this occasion, Kharge said, "If I am not mistaken, you spoke about M.M. Kalburgi ji, Gauri Lankesh ji, and Dabholkar ji. People of the Sangh killed them. The case is ongoing. In another six months, I will complete this work and send all these people to jail. We are following up on this matter and we will do it."

Further leveling a major allegation, Kharge stated that the people responsible for these murders were also responsible for the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. He added that the government is moving forward in these cases.

M.M. Kalburgi was a renowned Kannada scholar and rationalist who was shot dead at his residence in Dharwad in August 2015. According to reports, one of two unknown persons who arrived on a bike knocked on the door, and as Kalburgi opened it, he was shot from close range, after which the attackers fled. The investigation conducted by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) led to chargesheets being filed against several individuals believed to be linked to right-wing extremist ideology. The chargesheet alleged that these murders were inspired by a book published by the Sanatan Sanstha, which targeted individuals opposing hard Hindutva beliefs and idol worship.

On the other hand, journalist and activist Gauri Lankesh was shot dead outside her home in Rajarajeshwari Nagar, Bengaluru, in September 2017. According to the investigation, two persons had come to survey the area on a scooter. Investigators found that the shooter, identified as Parashuram Waghmare, fired multiple rounds into Lankesh's head, neck, and chest. The SIT investigation alleged that Lankesh's murder was part of a wider conspiracy carried out by a network linked to Sanatan Sanstha and the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti.

Trials in both these cases are now nearing completion, and a final verdict is expected. The investigation into these murders was also conducted in the context of a broader conspiracy targeting writers, rationalists, and activists, including potential links to the murders of Narendra Dabholkar in Maharashtra in 2013 and Govind Pansare in 2015.

Gauri Lankesh was a well-known journalist and activist who was murdered in 2017. M.M. Kalburgi was a famous Kannada scholar and rationalist who was murdered in 2015.