Police are on the lookout for a person going by name Nihal, who is said to be from neighbouring Maharashtra.

The gunman, who killed journalist and activist Gauri Lankesh last September, is still at large and is not among the five arrested, according to sources in the special investigation team (SIT) investigating the case.

The incident was captured by CCTVs installed in the compound of Gauri’s R.R. Nagar residence.

“Technical analysis of the visuals clearly shows the shooter was around 5 feet 1 inch, shorter than Gauri, and was plump. None of the five persons arrested so far match the person in the visual,” said a senior officer.

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Of the five, only K.T. Naveen Kumar and Amit Degwekar, match the height of the shooter.

However, Naveen was in Sanatan Ashram, Mangaluru, that day, according to a statement of his wife, Roopa C.N., and the police have ruled him out as the gunman.

Amit, too, has been ruled out because of a difference in build.

“While we are sure we do not have the shooter yet, we are not sure whether any of those arrested was the biker,” the officer said.

The SIT is searching for a person going by name Nihal, said to be from Maharashtra, a close associate of Amol Kale, a third accused in the case.

The police suspect that Nihal may have been the gunman.

Kalburgi murder

The SIT probe has also ruled out Naveen’s role in the 2015 murder of K.T. Kalburgi, as he allegedly came in contact with right wing organisations in 2017.

However, the police are probing whether Praveen, Amol Kale, Manohar Yedave and Amit Degwekar were involved. “We did recover a hit list from Amol Kale with eight names, indicating his role in the larger conspiracy,” the officer said, adding that “to date, we have not uncovered any evidence that the accused had any knowledge of the murder.”