BJP MLA Byrathi Basavaraj remanded in judicial custody till Feb 26 in Bengaluru realtor murder case

The CID had sought police custody of the MLA, saying custodial interrogation was essential as the Karnataka HC had ordered the same in a ruling on February 10. CID Special Prosecutor Ashok Naik told the court on February 13 that the BJP MLA had previously lied to the Bengaluru police in statements about his involvement with the murder.

“It was revealed from the evidence obtained during the investigation that the truth was concealed in statements (by the MLA). The accused should be interrogated thoroughly and the further statement should be recorded,” the CID told the court.

The court was informed that the murder victim Bikla Shiva had filed complaints with the police about four to five months before the murder about threats he had received from the MLA and his associates over real estate disputes in east Bengaluru.

“During the investigation, it was learnt that the accused (MLA) was supporting accused A-1 (Jagadish P alias Jaga) and A-20 (Ajeeth Kumar) in their real estate business. An investigation should be conducted after obtaining information from the accused,” the court was informed.

Realtor Bikla Shiva was hacked to death outside his home in east Bengaluru on the evening of July 15, 2025, by a gang of assailants over a real estate dispute with members of a criminal gang allegedly associated with BJP MLA Byrathi Basavaraj and involved in the real estate business in east Bengaluru.

Byrathi Basavraj was named in the murder FIR filed by the Bengaluru police on the basis of a complaint by the mother of the murder victim, wherein she alleged that her son had been receiving threats from the MLA and his associates in a dispute over a 12 gunta property at Kithaganur in east Bengaluru.

The MLA has, meanwhile, moved a special sessions court for bail in the case.

MLA’s businessman-advocate associate remanded as well

The special court Friday remanded businessman-advocate A G Ajeeth Kumar, 48, considered to be a close associate of the MLA, in judicial custody till February 26. Ajeeth Kumar, who is named as A20 in the case, is accused of funding, providing logistical and motivational support for the murder of Bikla Shiva at the behest of the MLA.

Ajeeth Kumar was arrested on February 12 after a special court canceled his interim bail in the wake of the Supreme Court rejecting an anticipatory bail plea filed by Byrathi Basavaraj.

The special magistrate’s court, which granted the CID six days of custody of Ajeeth Kumar on February 12, rejected a plea made by the CID on Friday for additional custody of five days.

The CID had sought additional custody of the businessman advocate “for collection of the CCTV footage of the places of conspiracy, which were stated to have been collected and secured by the accused” and for confronting him with mirror images of the mobile data extracts of the accused which were seized during the investigation.

The court rejected the plea for additional custody but granted liberty to the CID to approach the court again “after obtaining the report as to mirror images of mobile data extraction.”

The CID filed a chargesheet against 18 of the 20 accused persons in the murder case in December with the exception of MLA Byrathi Basavaraj and Ajeeth Kumar, who are also accused in the murder case.

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 the murder victim Bikla Shiva had built a compound wall for four 30 x 40 sites on 12 guntas of land belonging to the claimant in Kithaganur in east Bengaluru.