Will we ever know the truth about Saket Rajan's death which the police described as an "encounter" in Karnataka?. V K Cherian, a senior media person knew him personally. He still has a hand written magazine produced by Saket. Saket studied at Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) during 1981-82.

On February 22, Naxalite outfit, the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist), reportedly rejected the Karnataka Chief Minister Dharam Singh's offer of peace talks. In a press release, the outfit claimed responsibility for the February 11-killing seven police personnel at Venkatammanahalli in the Tumkur district and said the attack was to avenge the killing of the Naxalite leader, Saket Rajan, and his associate, Shivalingu, at Menasinahadya in the Chikamagalur district.

Dharam Singh has ordered an investigation after Citizen's Initiative for Peace (CIP) demanded an enquiry into the Saket's killing and human right activists charged the police with faking the "encounter". CIP demanded that a second post mortem according to National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) guidlines and Supreme Court ruling. It demanded, if no one claimed Saket's body, CIP would give him a decent funeral.

The chief minister agreed to hand over the bodies to CIP but the police and the administration put up legal blocks. Saket's mother claimed the body and agreed to
hand over the body to CIP but the police made her sign a letter saying the government should didpose off the body. On the basis of this letter, DGP S N Borkar announced that the police would themselves perform the last rites.

Saket's mother vented her fury on Television against the police for deceiving her. She faxed a letter to Dharam Singh saying her son's body should be given to CIP. By then second post mortem was complete and while CIP was on its way to collect the body, CIP got to know that Police has taken the body to an unknown destination. Dharam Singh was again contacted who in turn tried to contact the DGP but in vain because ultimately the police themselves conducted the last rites.

It showed that chief minister of Karnataka Dharam Singh has no control over his own police force. Dharam Singh said on record that he was " feeling terrible that such a brilliant man had been killed". He said, this happened because of communication gap. All this was happening in Banglore, the communication technology capital. Now there is a demand for arresting members of CIP.

Especially those of us who are in Banglore, please let us know as to who has been assigned the task of investigating the brutal murder of Saketh. What is the Terms of Reference of the Investigating agency and when are they going to submit their findings.

Also irrespective of the findings, journalists must be in touch with the 'sources' which can reveal as to who killed him. Media needs to be more vigilant of how DGP S N Borkar functions.

In Tehelka (In Death, A Star's Dawn, March 5, 2005) Gauri Lankesh, an IIMCian and a member of the CIP says, "The killing of CPI (Maoist) leader Saket Rajan was used to oust her from (the editoship of)Lankesh Patrike." Lankesh Patrike is a popular weekly Kannada magazine published from Bangalore. She has been ousted by Indrajit, the printer, proprietor and publisher of 'Lankesh Patrike' who happens to be her brother for
writing editorials which he deemed to be pro-naxal. She says, Indrajit did so under the influence of Police. As its editor, she had published an interview of Saket Rajan.

Gauri Lankesh writes, "The last two weeks have been the most traumatic in my life. At one go, these two weeks have shown how various forms of violence operate: the shrinking democratic space, the betrayal by the so-called mentors of our age, a government that has no control over the police and above all what domestic violence can do. Feminism declares: the personal is political. In my case it has come true -
both literally and metaphorically."

Gowri Lankesh is launching a new weekly named 'Lankesh'.