Gauri Lankesh silenced before she could expose corrupt Karnataka industrialists and politicians, claims friend

Senior journalist Gauri Lankesh, shot dead on Tuesday night at her residence on the outskirts of Bengaluru, was reportedly contemplating a series of exposes on corrupt industrialists and politicians in Karnataka.

Sources close to the firebrand journalist said she had hinted about a series of such articles to some friends during a recent Delhi trip where she attended a seminar.

A file image of Kannada journalist Gauri Lankesh. PTI
A file image of Kannada journalist Gauri Lankesh. PTI
“She was obviously silenced,” her friend said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

This individual, a classmate from the 1983-84 Class of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), said Lankesh repeatedly told friends repeatedly that she would continue to publish exposes because “that’s what a journalist is meant to do”.

But friends of Lankesh in Delhi said she, the editor of Lankesh Patrike, was aware of possible danger she could face if she went ahead with those investigative pieces, which she planned to coincide with the forthcoming Karnataka state elections.

Lankesh was also reportedly disturbed by the conflicting views held by some of her friends in Bengaluru and other parts of India. She allegedly told friends she would spend many sleepless nights wondering about “the divisive forces tearing apart India's secular fabric."