Bengaluru realtor murder: Custody of accused extended by 30 days under KCOCA

The earlier 45-day extension of custody – which ended on November 27 – was challenged in the high court by the accused persons in the murder case of real estate operative V G Shivaprakash alias Bikla Shiva, 44, on the grounds that the special court had erred in allowing the extension of custody after the end of the mandatory 90 days of judicial custody.

The advocates for the accused had argued that both the public prosecutor and the investigating officer in the case should have filed a report to the special court for extension of custody under the KCOCA law – which allows 180 days of judicial custody during the investigation phase instead of 90 days – and that only the prosecutor had filed a request.

Special public prosecutor’s arguments

The special public prosecutor (SPP) in the case in the high court, B N Jagadeesh, however, argued that the prosecutor’s report to the court was based on the consideration of a report of the investigating officer and that it was not necessary under KCOCA for both the prosecutor and the police officer to file reports.

The SPP also argued that the special court in its October 17 order extending custody by 45 days under KCOCA had referenced the prosecutor’s report given to the court, which indicated that the court had not extended custody on assumption but after application of mind.

“The main aspect which has been submitted by the prosecution indicates that genesis of the commission of the above case is a real estate dispute which was prevailing between the parties. The SPP has submitted that certain documents are required to be confronted to the accused persons and further A5 (BJP MLA) has obtained an order of interim protection from the HC,” the SPP said in the arguments by referring to the order of the special court.

The high court on Friday also rejected pleas filed by the five accused seeking default bail on account of the expiry of 90 days – a plea which had also been earlier rejected by the special court.

The KCOCA case pertains to the July 15 murder of Bikla Shiva on a street in east Bengaluru by a group of helmet-wearing assailants over an alleged property dispute with associates of BJP KR Pura MLA Byrathi Basavaraj.

Following the murder, the BJP MLA was named in the FIR as accused number five, and his close associate Jagadish Padmanabha alias Jaga, 48, was named as the main accused along with his gang members Vimal Raj, Kiran Krishna, Madan K and Pradeep K.

On July 16, a day after the murder was committed in full public view, five persons – Kiran Krishna, Pradeep, Vimal Raj, Madan K and Samuel Victor – had surrendered before the police, claiming to be involved in the murder over a local dispute.

Earlier on September 24, the special court, while rejecting the bail pleas by some of the 20 accused persons in the murder case, had upheld the invocation of the KCOCA law by the CID.

The invocation of the law is now under challenge in the high court by Byrathi Basavaraj.

‘Murder motive’

The police have informed the courts that the murder had its origins in a dispute dating back to February 2025, when a claimant to a property identified as Ravi contacted accused No. 2 Kiran K, stating that Bikla Shiva had illegally built a compound wall for four 30 x 40 sites belonging to the claimant.

The claimant alleged that Bikla Shiva was verbally abusing the accused No. 1, Jaga. After a series of confrontations between the gangs of Jaga and Bikla Shiva for dominance in the region, the murder of Bikla Shiva was plotted by the Jaga gang, it is alleged.

Jaga fled from India to Dubai soon after the murder, but was nabbed in Jakarta by Interpol on the basis of a blue corner notice issued at the instance of the Karnataka CID and was brought to India and arrested on August 26.

KCOCA is used to control organised crime on account of its stringent provisions for police custody of arrested persons, stronger norms for the grant of bail, provisions for the use of phone intercepts and police confessions as evidence, and a 180-day period for chargesheets.