In a shocking attack, veteran Bengaluru-based journalist Gauri Lankesh was shot dead at her residence in Rajarajeshwari Nagar.
According to reports, at around 8pm, unidentified men shot at Gauri and wounded her fatally before escaping from the scene.
Police said that Gauri was getting out of her car to open the gate of her house, when the assailants shot her. The shots penetrated her chest and she was killed on the spot, reports said.
"We learnt that the victim was shot dead from close range when she was standing at her house in Rajarajeswari Nagar (in the suburbs) around 8 pm," a senior police officer said.
According to witnesses, three bullets were fired at Gauri's forehead, killing her instantaneously.
"We will set up a special team to investigate the incident," said the official. Lankesh was the editor of the popular Kannada tabloid Lankesh Patrike.
The daughter of writer, translator and journalist P Lankesh, she was a columnist in both Kannada and English, and a vocal critic of the right wing.
The manner in which Gauri was killed was eerily similar to the way in which rationalist MM Kalburgi was killed two years ago. The former Vice Chancellor of Kannada University, Hampi, known for his outspoken criticism of the right wing, had also been shot at his residence.
Further details regarding the murder are awaited.