Five more arrested in realtor murder case involving BJP MLA

Bengaluru: Five more people have been arrested in connection with the murder of a rowdy-sheeter-turned-realtor case in which BJP MLA Byrathi Basavaraj has also been named as an accused, police said on Friday.

With the fresh arrests, the total number of people taken into custody in the case now stands at 16.

Shivaprakash alias Biklu Shivu (40) was hacked to death at Bharathi Nagar in the city a week ago, police said.

All the 16 accused have been arrested and produced before the court. The court has sent them to judicial custody till August 4, a senior police officer said.

Efforts are on to nab two others--including Jagadeesh alias Jaggi, the prime accused in the case and Danush. Both have been absconding since the incident, he said.

Meanwhile, Basavaraj has been questioned in connection with the murder twice in the case so far. On July 23, he was questioned for four hours and according to police, if needed, he may be summoned again.

The MLA, who has been named as the fifth accused in the case, had earlier appeared for questioning on July 19, following a Karnataka High Court directive.

Basavaraj has denied any involvement in the case and has moved the court to quash the First Information Report (FIR), claiming it was baseless. He alleged that his name was added without merit.

The victim's mother, Vijayalakshmi, also said she had not named the MLA in her initial complaint and alleged that police included his name on their own, raising doubts over the FIR's validity.

Special Public Prosecutor B A Belliyappa argued in court that Basavaraj may have influenced the complainant within 24 hours of the murder, possibly to seek anticipatory protection based on court orders.