Prime Witness In Gauri Lankesh Murder Case Claims Police Coercion

A key witness in the murder case of journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh testified before a special court that he was compelled by the police to make a confession under section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

The witness, Madetira Thimmaiah, 46, from Kadagadalu village in Kodagu district, claimed that the police forced him to state that he knew the accused Rajesh Bangera was connected to a few men from Maharashtra and that they had met in Madikeri.

Gauri Lankesh, then 55-year-old journalist, was murdered outside her home in West Bengaluru on the night of September 5, 2017, by two motorcyclists, as reported by The Indian Express. Thimmaiah made his confession in 2018, stating that he had allowed Rajesh Bangera, along with three others—Mohan Naik from Sampaje in Madikeri, Amit Digvekar, and Virendra Tawde alias Saabji from Maharashtra—to use his office space in February 2014 for a discussion on a significant issue.

Thimmaiah, a businessman, owns an office on Kohinoor Road in Madikeri. He testified that he had known Bangera since 1994 from their karate sessions at the district stadium. His confession detailed that Bangera, Digvekar, and Tawde visited his office one morning, and later, Mohan Naik joined them. Thimmaiah left for work but called Bangera in the evening, who informed him that the office keys were with him. Bangera later thanked Thimmaiah for the use of the office, as reported by The Times of India.

During his appearance before the special court handling cases under the Karnataka Control of Organised Crime Act, Thimmaiah asserted that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) investigating the case had forced him to make the confession.

He revealed that he was summoned to the CID headquarters on Palace Road in 2018, where he was told to stay in Bengaluru for two days while the police interrogated him about his relationship with Bangera.

Thimmaiah stated that the police seized a comb and toothbrush from him and threatened to frame him in the case if he did not cooperate, adding that the confession was prepared by the police under duress, according to the TOI report.

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