Karnataka BJP MLA Byrathi Basavaraj remanded in custody till 26 Feb in murder case
Court sends KR Puram legislator to judicial custody as CID probes alleged role in killing of rowdy-sheeter Biklu Shiva
A court in Karnataka on Saturday remanded BJP MLA Byrathi Basavaraj to judicial custody until 26 February in connection with a murder case linked to the killing of a local rowdy-sheeter in Bengaluru.
The order was issued by the 42nd Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate court after Basavaraj was taken into custody by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). He is set to be lodged at the Bengaluru Central Prison on the outskirts of the city.
Basavaraj, who represents the KR Puram Assembly constituency, was arrested in the case relating to the murder of Shivaprakash, also known as Biklu Shiva. He was detained upon his arrival at the Kempegowda International Airport after the Karnataka High Court rejected his anticipatory bail plea. The Supreme Court subsequently declined to grant him relief.
The MLA has been named as the fifth accused in the case. Shivaprakash was hacked to death outside his residence in the Halasuru area of Bengaluru on 15 July last year.
The Bharatinagar police initially registered a First Information Report against Basavaraj based on a complaint filed by the victim’s mother. The case took a twist when she later claimed that she had not named the MLA in her complaint and was unaware of how his name appeared in the FIR.
Police, however, have maintained that subsequent investigations established Basavaraj’s alleged links to the prime accused, rowdy Jagadeesh alias Jagga. Investigators claim the MLA had direct contact with Jagadeesh and had met the victim on several occasions prior to the killing.
CID sources said custodial interrogation was necessary to advance the investigation and uncover any wider conspiracy behind the murder.
The BJP has alleged political vendetta, claiming that the Congress-led government in Karnataka is targeting Basavaraj. State BJP president B. Y. Vijayendra visited the MLA’s residence and asserted that Basavaraj had played a key role in strengthening the party in the state after defecting from the Congress. He further alleged that Basavaraj had been falsely implicated in the case.
The investigation is ongoing.
With IANS inputs