The notice said Guha made the "utterances" intentionally to bring disrepute to the RSS and BJP with an "ulterior motive" and that the "direct allegations, insinuations and innuendos" impute criminal conduct.
It quoted Guha as having said in an interview, "It is very likely that her murderers came from the same Sangh Parivar from which the murderers of Dabholkar, Pansare and Kalburgi came." It also said Guha had made similar statements in an article.
The notice has been issued by Haranahalli Law Partners on behalf of State BJP Yuva morcha Secretary Karunakar Khasale.
Guha responded to the notice through a series tweets. "in India today, independent writers and journalists are harassed, persecuted, and even killed. But we shall not be silenced."
He also tweeted, "Atal Bihari Vajpayee said the answer to a book or article can only be another book or article. But we no longer live in Vajpayee's India."
"Under such circumstances, without any basis or proof,you have given false and mischievous statements clearly calculated to defame our Client's organisation and its members," the notice says.
The "baseless utterances" were also calculated to influence and mislead the ongoing investigations into the incidents, which amounts to illegal interference in the course of justice and was a grave offence, it said.
The notice demands Guha to categorically issue an unconditional apology within three days from the date of its receipt and to refrain from making any similar or identical statements or allegations.
Gauri Lankesh, a harsh critic of Hindutva politics, was gunned down by unidentified assailants at her residence here on Septmber 5, with no clues on the incident so far.
The Karnataka government has formed a Special Investigation Team to probe the coldblooded killing that has caused national outrage and protests.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
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