Seven Bullets, One Pen — Gauri Lankesh, a firebrand journalist who fought for the right till her last breath.

When it’s about controversies and conflict, our nation is talked about the most. Be it rape scandal of a self proclaimed God-man or an actress confessing over a political talk show, we have seen it all. Presently, the whole country has been swayed by one of the most tragic and controversial political murders of all time, the death of senior journalist and activist Gauri Lankesh. Read on to know more about the incident.

Born in a Kannada lingayat family on 29 January 1962, Gauri Lankesh was the daughter of P. Lankesh— a poet turned journalist who established the Kannada weekly tabloid, Lankesh Patrike. She started off her career as a journalist with The Times of India, Bangalore and moved to Delhi with her husband and renowned journalist and columnist, Chidanand Rajghatta. Afterwards, the couple got divorced. Nevertheless, the time period of their spousal relationship is unknown. After her father’s death, Gauri Lankesh became the editor-in-chief of her family’s controversial political tabloid – Lankesh Patrike. She subsequently set forth her own Kannada weekly named “Gauri Lankesh Patrike”, after a fierce dispute with her brother and filmmaker Indrajit Lankesh.

On 5th of September, while she was locking the main door after returning back from work, Gauri Lankesh was shot dead by three unidentified men. They had fired seven bullets out of which three had hit her in the head, neck and chest; as a consequence she died on the spot. The incident took place at her Rajarajeshwari Nagar residence in Bengaluru, around 8 p.m. in the evening. It’s alleged that one of the three men was waiting for her nearby her house and other must have followed her while her way back to home. Lankesh’s assassins were wearing helmets and got away on a Honda Dio after the incident. Protests took place all across the nation; including a rally in Bengaluru with over 15,000 people being party to it. She was later given a state funeral on 6th of September and her last rites were performed in accordance with lingayat customs.

We pay our deepest condolences to the journalist’s family and wish peace of her departed soul.