The US embassy on Wednesday condemned the murder of noted journalist Gauri Lankesh, who was gunned down by unidentified men at her home in Bengaluru on Tuesday evening.

“The US Mission in India joins advocates of press freedom in India and worldwide in condemning the murder of respected journalist Gauri Lankesh in Bengaluru,” said a brief statement posted on the embassy’s website.

“We offer our sincere condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of Ms Lankesh,” it said.

According to police, at least three suspects were involved in the murder of Lankesh, an outspoken critic of Hindu extremism who was found dead on the verandah of her home at 8pm with bullet wounds to her head and chest.

Television reports said the gunmen fired seven bullets at 55-year-old Lankesh and three hit her.

Lankesh was the daughter of famous poet-turned-journalist P Lankesh. She was the editor of Gauri Lankesh Patrike, writing often against Sangh organisations and communal violence in the country.

The murder of Lankesh has also been condemned by organisations such as Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), which said Indian authorities “must thoroughly investigate and bring to justice” her killers.

A 2015 report said India is Asia’s deadliest country for media personnel, ahead of both Pakistan and Afghanistan. According to the CPJ’s research, at least 27 journalists have been murdered in direct retaliation for their work in India since 1992.

India ranked 13th on the CPJ’s latest Impunity Index, a measure of countries worldwide where journalist are killed and the murderers go free.

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