Bengaluru

More than four years after two bike-borne men shot dead writer, activist Gauri Lankesh, the trial will begin on May 27 in the Special court of Karnataka Control of Organised Crimes Act (KCOCA).

Lankesh was shot at her residence in Bengaluru on September 5, 2017.

Her sister Kavita Lankesh, a noted filmmaker, who is also an informant in the case, has been issued summons in this regard by the Special Court Judge Anil Bheemana Katti. She has also been directed to depose before the court on May 27.

Gauri Lankesh was known for her unrelenting opposition to Hindutva forces. She was also closely involved in bringing Naxals to mainstream society. Her murder triggered a massive outrage across the country .

The government had formed the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the killing. The SIT after the probe had submitted a charge sheet and named 18 accused people in the case out of which 17 have been arrested.

The police are yet to nab the 18^th accused Vikas Patel a.k.a Nihal. The probe found that accused Amol Kale was the prime conspirator and another accused Parushuram Waghmore shot Gauri Lankesh dead.

Amit Baddi, Ganesh Miskin, Amit Degwekar, Bharat Kurane, Rajesh D. Bangera, Mohan Nayak, Suresh H.L., Sudhanva Gondalekar, Sharad B. Kalaskar, Vasudev B. Suryavamshi, Sujit Kumar, Manohar Yedave, Srikanth J. Pangarkar, K.T. Naveen Kumar and Rishikesh Devadekar are the other accused persons and they are currently in judicial custody.