Over the months, the SIT officers say they have questioned several people linked to the illegal arms trade in Karnataka in the search for clues to the Lankesh murder. So far, the SIT says it has inspected 40-45 guns seized from northern Karnataka districts which, apparently, are an entry point for countrymade weapons being smuggled in from other states. According to one officer, the crackdown has helped to disrupt the illegal trade in countrymade weapons in Karnataka to some extent. Occasionally, these enquiries have led to unconnected outcomes -- like the interrogation of a gun smuggler in December which led to the sensational accusation against Kannada tabloid editor Ravi Belagere that he had engaged a hired hand to kill an employee over a personal grudge. That, as investigators explained, had nothing to do with the Lankesh probe.