PUNE: The delay in nabbing those who killed Narendra Dabholkar, Govind Pansare and MM Kalburgi has emboldened radical elements in society, who are now confident that they can get away with the murder of rationalists and writers, members of the Dabholkar and Pansare families said on Wednesday while protesting the killing of journalist Gauri Lankesh "What has happened is deeply disturbing. We don't know who the people behind Lankesh's murder are. But the fact is that radicalism is on the rise. How can you kill someone because he/she has different thoughts?" asked Dabholkar's son Hamid.He called upon the police and society to see these murders as terror acts. "Killers want to browbeat those speaking their mind. This is a threat to the basic tenets of democracy," he said.Dabholkar was shot dead on August 20, 2013 in Pune while he was on his morning walk. Pansare was shot at on February 16, 2015 in Kolhapur and succumbed to his injuries four days later. Kalburgi was shot dead in Dharwad on August 30, 2015.Dabholkar's daughter Mukta said, "The people who killed my father, Pansare and Kalburgi are roaming free. The failure to nab and punish the killers has sent the message that one can avoid punishment after targeting rationalists and writers."Pansare's daughter-in-law Megha said, "I had met Lankesh on August 26 when we had gone to meet the Karnataka CM. We had insisted that the Karnataka government take more steps to probe Kalburgi's murder. It is unfortunate that a person like Lankesh who stood for rationalism and spoke her mind has been killed."While opposition parties have drawn parallels between the murders of the three rationalists and Lankesh, the Dabholkar and Pansare family members did not link the latest murder to any political party, organization or radical group.

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