Indrajit Lankesh, filmmaker and brother of slain journalist Gauri Lankesh, has asked political parties not to use the recent murders in Karnataka, including that of Gauri’s, for political gains.

He was here on Tuesday to visit the families of Deepak Rao and Abdul Basheer, who were killed here in two different incidents on January 3.

Religions and castes are being pitted against each other, Indrajit said, urging parties not to use these deaths to gain votes in the coming elections. He added that all the parties in Karnataka, especially the ruling Congress, are playing politics with the deaths of his sister, Rao, Basheer and a minor Dalit girl from Vijayapura district.

The police is controlled, he said. “I say it is the failure of the government (not the police).”

Four months after Gauri’s death, the culprits are yet to be nabbed, he added.