In yet another development in the Gauri Lankesh murder case, the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad has arrested three men, all connected to different right wing supremacist groups. Their arrest has led to shocking revelations that show just how deep the Rabbit Hole goes.
Vaibhav Raut (40), Sudhanwa Gondhalekar (39) and Sharad Kasalkar (25), were arrested based on information shared by the Karnataka Special Investigation Team (SIT) investigating the Gauri Lankesh murder case. The SIT has also revealed that dozens of men had been into radical supremacist groups in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Goa and other parts of the country.
Another man Bharat Kurne was arrested from Belgavi (Belgaum) on August 10. The 37 year old is accused of not only being a part of the conspiracy to kill Gauri Lankesh, but also organising arms training at his Khanapur farmhouse located at the Maharashtra-Karnataka border. In fact the SIT revealed that as many as 22 youths had received arms training over the last few years.
Amol Kale who had been arrested earlier this year from Bangalore is believed to be the mastermind behind the plot to kill the firebrand journalist. He is a former Pune convenor of the Hindu Janjagriti Samiti (HJS), an affiliate of the Sanatan Sanstha. Raut and Gondhalekar are also closely connected with the HJS and Sanatan Sanstha. Raut is also the coordinator of the Hindu Govansh Raksha Samiti, a cow protection group. Meanwhile, Gondhalekar is a member of Shri Shivapratishthan Hindustan, a group cofounded by Sambhaji Bhide, one of the key accused in the attack on members of the Dalit community in Bhima Koregaon on January 1, 2018.
38 year old Amit Degwekar, the financier and planner was arrested in May. He was a resident of Sanatan Ashram in Ponda and worked for the ‘Sanatan Prabhat’, the organisation’s mouth piece.