Bengaluru: KT Naveen Kumar, the first accused in the Gauri Lankesh murder case, may be charged under Section 118 of the IPC as he seems to be holding back information, a special investigation team probing the sensational case has told the court.
The SIT, which gave a sealed envelope with “voluntary statements” of the accused to the court, said the team had managed to extract some information from Naveen Kumar and sought his custody for five more days to make progress in the case. The judge was ready to accept the request for extended custody given the serious nature of the case.
The prosecution told the court that it was exploring the option of adding Section 118 to the charges against Naveen Kumar. The section pertains to concealing information on offences that could attract death penalty or life imprisonment. Since the offence he is allegedly trying to conceal is murder — which could be punishable by death or life term — Kumar will face up to seven years in jail if convicted under Section 118.
Kumar is also suspected to have hatched another murder plot — that of killing Mysore-based rationalist Professor KS Bhagwan. Police believe the plot was thwarted when Kumar was arrested with bullets in his possession.
“The main accused in the case is still at large. Kumar is only one of the accused. During interrogation, he revealed some information, but hid a lot, which is why we would want to continue our investigation with him under custody, and carry out forensic tests to verify the statements he has made thus far,” public prosecutor Nirmal Rani, who appeared for the SIT, told the court.
Naveen Kumar, who was arrested on February 19 by the Crime Branch for illegal possession of bullets of the same kind that killed Lankesh, was later taken for questioning by the SIT. The probe team has now made him an accused in the Gauri Lankesh case, making this its first arrest nearly six months after the senior journalist was shot dead outside her home in Bengaluru.
Kumar has earlier been affiliated with Right-wing organisations such as the Hindu Yuva Sena and is even said to have helped coordinate activities of other hardcore Hindutva groups like the Sanatana Sanstha. But Hindutva groups have distanced themselves from him, with press releases stating they were unaware of who he is.
During interrogation in the last eight days, Kumar is said to have revealed details about an accomplice, whom the police are tracking now. But investigators feel that these details could well be red herrings to mislead the investigation.
“Permission has been sought from the magistrate for a lie detector test, narco analysis and a brain-mapping test. The SIT took his consent during investigation and that consent was also recorded in audio/video. Later, in the court hall, he said he doesn't want to go for this, may be because of some pressure. But he had given consent, which was taken in writing and also submitted to the court,” Rani told News18.
We gave the details to the court in a sealed cover as some revelations made by Kumar are confidential and may hamper the investigation if revealed in open court, she said.
The defence lawyer, however, claimed that Kumar had not given any such consent. “One CD was given to the magistrate. That CD was not disclosed to us. The magistrate wanted to give some verdict only after seeing the CD. At the same time, they wanted to do brain mapping. We objected to brain mapping because even KT Naveen Kumar is not ready to undergo this,” defence lawyer Amruthesh told News18.
The court has reserved its order on whether these tests will be allowed, while agreeing to extend Kumar’s custody by five days. Kumar’s counsel claimed that there are “new twists and turns” and the SIT was trying to “make more” of this sensational case in view of upcoming Assembly elections.
His other lawyer A Vedamurthy told the court that they were not given access often enough to speak to their client and wanted directions from the court on specific timings set aside for this. The court, however, only said that they will be given access to the client as and when the latter sought a meeting.
The prosecutor also told the court there is no guarantee the accused will be in Bengaluru for the five days, as he may be taken to other places as part of the investigation to identify places and people who could be involved in the case.
Interestingly, Kumar was granted bail in the case he faces under the Arms Act — that of illegally possessing bullets. When he was arrested, around 15 bullets of .32 calibre were seized from him, leading to questions on whether he possessed them for another hit. The bail order came from a different magistrate around an hour after Kumar was named accused in the Gauri Lankesh case and his custody extended. He will, thus, remain in SIT custody till March 15.
Police sources said they tried to get Kumar involved in the reconstruction of some facets of the case, including getting him to ride a bike near Gauri Lankesh’s home and recording the same to match the footage from CCTV cameras. Cyber forensic experts are part of the inquiry to establish digital evidence in the case.
Kumar is suspected to have carried out reconnaissance around the residence a few days before the murder was executed on September 5 last year. The police are now tracking the supply chain of bullets allegedly recovered from his possession.
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