A probe into the “mechanics of the crime’’ in the September 5 killing of journalist and activist Gauri Lankesh by an unidentified gunman has revealed that Lankesh’s murder is identical to that of the August 30, 2015 murder of Kannada literary scholar MM Kalburgi, The Indian Express reported.

While formal forensics and ballistics reports are awaited, the Express report quoted an unnamed official stating that “this finding goes beyond just the speculation”.

This comes after Karnataka Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy’s comment on Saturday that the Special Investigation Team set up to probe Lankesh’s murder had obtained important clues.

The 77-year-old Sahitya Akademi Award winner, Kalburgi, was shot dead at his doorstep with a 7.65 mm countrymade pistol by two unidentified persons who drove up on a motorcycle, while Lankesh was shot dead at her doorstep by one of two persons who came on a motorcycle who fired four bullets from a 7.65 mm countrymade pistol.

Investigations have also revealed usage of the same 7.65 mm pistol in the murder 81-year-old Maharashtra rationalist and leftist thinker Govind Pansare, while one of the two guns that were used to shoot down Pansare in 2015 had also been used to kill Maharashtra rationalist Narendra Dabholkar, reports stated.