--- title: Gauri Lankesh: Indian Journalist Shot Dead in Bangalore description: Gauri Lankesh, a veteran Indian journalist known for her outspoken criticism of Hindu nationalist politics has been shot dead in Bangalore canonical: https://time.com/4928666/guari-lankesh-killed-bangalore/ author: Joseph Hincks article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-09-06T05:10:28.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T17:17:54.157Z article:section: World og:title: Prominent Indian Journalist Shot Dead in Bangalore og:description: Gauri Lankesh was shot by unknown gunmen outside her home og:url: https://time.com/4928666/guari-lankesh-killed-bangalore/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcf6ab38951c70e8d/6988dc8d97cdff70036b2513/gettyimages-843009728.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: INDIA-CRIME-SHOOTOUT og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Prominent Indian Journalist Shot Dead in Bangalore twitter:description: Gauri Lankesh was shot by unknown gunmen outside her home twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcf6ab38951c70e8d/6988dc8d97cdff70036b2513/gettyimages-843009728.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # A Prominent Indian Journalist Has Been Shot Dead Outside Her Home in Bangalore by [Joseph Hincks](/author/joseph-hincks/) ## Joseph Hincks Sep 6, 2017 5:10 AM CUT  Home Minister of the The house of 55-year-old Gauri Lankesh, who was shot dead by unknown assailants in the porch of her home in Bangalore overnight on Sept. 5, 2017. Home Minister of the The house of 55-year-old Gauri Lankesh, who was shot dead by unknown assailants in the porch of her home in Bangalore overnight on Sept. 5, 2017.Manjunath Kiran— AFP/Getty Images by [Joseph Hincks](/author/joseph-hincks/) ## Joseph Hincks Sep 6, 2017 5:10 AM CUT A veteran Indian journalist known for her outspoken criticism of Hindu nationalist politics has been shot dead in the southern city of Bangalore in Karnataka state. Police who recovered the body of Gauri Lankesh, 55, on Tuesday night said she had been killed by unknown gunmen on a motorcycle, _The Times of India_ [reports](http://indianexpress.com/article/who-is/gauri-lankesh-senior-journalist-bengaluru-lankesh-patrike-4830415/ "undefined"). Her body was reportedly found lying in a pool of blood near the door of her house. Lankesh was the editor of left-wing independent newspaper _Lankesh Patrike_, [founded by her late father](http://indianexpress.com/article/who-is/gauri-lankesh-senior-journalist-bengaluru-lankesh-patrike-4830415/ "undefined"), a renowned poet-turned-journalist. She also started her own newspaper, the _Gauri Lankesh Patrike_. Activists say journalists are being increasingly targeted by radical Hindu nationalists and her death is the latest in a string of assassinations targeting journalists and secularists critical of extreme Hindu nationalism and religious superstition in India. In 2015, scholar Malleshappa M. Kalburgi was shot dead at his home in Bangalore and earlier that same year politician and writer Govind Pansare was killed. “The attack on the select writers is obviously happening because they are able to mould public opinion… there is a pattern in the way assailants come on motorbikes, kill, and vanish,” Karnataka-based writer K Marulasiddappa [told](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-41169817 "undefined") the BBC. “There cannot be any personal reasons attributed to her death because she had no personal enemies. So, the possibility is only political.” Karnataka state’s chief minister Siddaramaiah condemned the killing and promised a thorough investigation into the death of Lankesh, who he [described](https://twitter.com/CMofKarnataka/status/905107477137522688 "undefined") on Twitter as a “progressive force.” At the time of her death, Lankesh was on bail appealing the verdict of a defamation case that had resulted in a six month jail sentence for a story on local leaders of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. \[[_The Times of India_](http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/journalist-activist-gauri-lankesh-gunned-down-outside-her-house/articleshow/60385024.cms "undefined")_,_ [_BBC_](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-41169817 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4928666/guari-lankesh-killed-bangalore/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4928666/guari-lankesh-killed-bangalore/"},"headline":"A Prominent Indian Journalist Has Been Shot Dead Outside Her Home in Bangalore","datePublished":"2017-09-06T05:10:28.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T17:17:54.157Z","description":"Gauri Lankesh was shot by unknown gunmen outside her home","url":"https://time.com/4928666/guari-lankesh-killed-bangalore/","keywords":["India","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcf6ab38951c70e8d/6988dc8d97cdff70036b2513/gettyimages-843009728.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Joseph Hincks","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/joseph-hincks/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcf6ab38951c70e8d/6988dc8d97cdff70036b2513/gettyimages-843009728.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"INDIA-CRIME-SHOOTOUT","caption":"INDIA-CRIME-SHOOTOUT","creditText":"Manjunath Kiran— AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/india/","name":"India"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4928666/guari-lankesh-killed-bangalore/","name":"A Prominent Indian Journalist Has Been Shot Dead Outside Her Home in Bangalore"}}]}] ```