BJP MLA Basavaraj was in touch with Bengaluru realtor murder accused before and after crime, say Karnataka Police in counter to case-quashing plea

The prosecution presented the statements of objections to petitions filed by MLA Basavaraj for the quashing of the murder case against him, as well as the quashing of charges brought under KCOCA, 2000, in the murder case.

The investigation of the murder case of Shivaprakash alias Bikla Shiva had revealed that some persons closely connected with the MLA “had prior contact with the main accused before and after the commission of the crime,” the prosecution has stated to refute allegations by the MLA of being falsely implicated in the murder case.

The probe had also revealed that MLA Basavaraj himself “had prior contact with both the deceased and the principal accused before and after the occurrence of the crime,” the prosecution said to counter the contention that the case against the MLA is politically motivated.

The police have said in the objection statement that two of three complaints filed by the murder victim with the police before his death had also named the MLA as being involved and interfering in a property dispute.

The MLA was named in a complaint by the victim dated February 18, 2025, but not in a complaint dated February 21, 2025. However, this does not absolve his role since a complaint dated February 25, 2025, filed by the victim had again named the MLA, the police have stated.

The “investigations have revealed sufficient material indicating his role in the murder of the deceased for illegal gains from property,” said the statement.

The police have referred to a statement given in court by the victim’s mother under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), which has evidentiary value, of threats to her son to substantiate the objection to quashing the case against Basavaraj.

MLA Basavaraj’s counter

A senior counsel appearing for the MLA argued that the mother of the victim had denied naming the MLA in a video statement given before the media. He also argued that the stringent KCOCA law was wrongly invoked against the MLA since there is no evidence to suggest his involvement in organised crime activities.

Basavaraj moved the Karnataka High Court on October 14 against the invocation of the KCOCA, 2000, in the murder case. He had earlier moved the court in July – soon after being named in the July 15 murder case – for quashing the complaint.

On August 13, the high court granted an order protecting the MLA from “coercive action” by the police. The CID police, which has taken over the investigation, filed an application last month for the removal of the protection against arrest accorded to the MLA by citing alleged non-cooperation in the probe.

Sensational murder

Shivaprakash was killed outside his house on a public street near the Halasuru Lake on the evening of July 15 by a gang of armed assailants. The Bengaluru police had named BJP MLA Basavaraj and a local gangster, Jagadish P alias Jaga, 45, with whom the MLA is closely associated, among the accused in the FIR.

The murder is alleged to have occurred over a dispute concerning a property in east Bengaluru over which two rival gangs had staked a claim of ownership.