Hyderabad: Parashuram Waghmore, the prime suspect accused of gunning down journalist Gauri Lankesh was garlanded and facilitated in Vijayapura of Karnataka, along with another accused Manohar Yadve by the Shri Ram Sene activists on October 11, after they were let out on bail.

Videos of the suspected shooter of the journalist, Parashuram and his accomplice Manohar surfaced online, where they could be seen praying at a temple, in the presence of local Hindutva leaders.

A Bengaluru sessions court granted bail to 8 accused in the murder of Gauri Lankesh, on October 9. With this decision, 16 of the total 18 accused are currently out on bail.

Other accused persons of the murder, including Bharat Kurane, Srikanth Pangarkar, Sujith Kumar and Sudhanva Gondhalekar, were recently granted bail by the Karnataka High Court on September 4.

Amit Dighvekar, K T Naveen Kumar, and Suresh H L were granted bail by the Karnataka High Court on July 16, while Mohan Nayak became the first accused person to be granted bail on December 7, 2023, LiveLaw reported.

The main accused out on bail are accused shooter Parashuram Waghmore, suspected mastermind, Amol Kale, and the getaway driver, Ganesh Miskin. The murder took place in September 5, 2017.

Other accused who were granted bail by the court are Baddi, Rajesh D Bangera, Vasudev Suryawanshi, Manohar Yadave, and Rishikesh Deodikar, who allegedly were part of the criminal conspiracy and carried out other tasks related to the murder including surveillance, logistics, etc., as reported by The News Minute.

Actor Prakash Raj, a close friend of Gauri Lankesh and a critic of the Hindutva, condemned the accused being given bail and garlanded by the Sangh Parivar saying, “Bail is the Rule, only for murderers and rapists in this country”.

Several netizens raised their concerns over the accused being granted bail.

Journalist and activist Gauri Lankesh was an independent voice in the South Indian media, who edited The Lankesh Patrike. Journalist Gauri was an outspoken critic of the Narendra Modi-led BJP government and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

Her works and speeches criticising the Sangh Parivar had led to her being targeted by Hindutva extremists.

On September 5, 2017, she was shot down in the driveway of her house while returning after work.