The Karnataka High Court Friday directed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA and former minister B A Basavaraj to appear for police questioning in connection with the killing of a realtor in east Bengaluru earlier this week.
The order, issued in response to a petition filed by Basavaraj seeking a stay on the investigation, comes just days after Bengaluru police named him as the fifth accused in the murder of V G Shivaprakash, also known as Bikla Shiva. Shivaprakash, 44, was hacked to death on a city street near Ulsoor Lake on July 15.
“In the meanwhile, by way of an interim arrangement and without prejudice to the rights and contentions of the parties, petitioner is directed to appear before the 1st respondent police authorities on 19.07.2025 at 11.30 a.m. as indicated in the Notice at Annexure-J dated 16.07.2025 issued to the petitioner,” the HC said in its interim order on Friday.
The court added that if the MLA appeared for the investigation on Saturday, the “police shall proceed further strictly in accordance with law” and comply with provisions for the arrest of individuals.
The BJP MLA was named as accused on account of the murder being allegedly executed by Jagadish, aka Jagga, a close associate of the MLA. Jagga has been named as the prime accused, along with his associates Kiran, Vimal Raj, Anil and others.
Basavaraj, also known as Byrathi Basavaraj, is the cousin of Karnataka urban development minister and Congress leader Byrathi Suresh. The BJP MLA was previously with the Congress, but had shifted his allegiance in 2019, along with 16 other Congress and JDS MLAs, to help the BJP topple the then JDS-Congress government in the state.
Basavaraj has a reputation as a land shark and realtor in east Bengaluru, whose fortunes have surged exponentially in the last decade, since he has been the K R Puram MLA.
Story continues below this ad
The murdered realtor, Bikla Shiva, had previously lodged complaints with the Bengaluru police over receiving threats regarding a disputed one-acre property in the Kithaganur area of east Bengaluru from the associates of the MLA — who were also claimants to the property by way of agreements with one section of the owners.
Bikla Shiva, too, had a criminal history and multiple cases of extortion and violence against him in police stations across east Bengaluru.
The Bengaluru police have so far arrested five persons for Bikla Shiva’s murder. The accused have been identified as Kiran K, Vimal Raj, Pradeep K, Madan R and Samuel V, all of whom have crime records and are suspected henchmen of Jagga.
Following the arrest, the Bengaluru police had issued summons to the BJP MLA to appear before them for investigation into the matter. However, the MLA approached the Karnataka HC for a stay on the investigations and quashing of the FIR against him.
Story continues below this ad
Bikla Shiva was reportedly involved in a public spat over the one-acre Kithaganur property with the arrested Vimal Raj in February this year, a video of which was also captured.
A resident of Meanee Avenue, Bikla Shiva, was standing outside his residence on the evening of July 15 and speaking to his driver, Imran, and friend, Lokesh, when over eight people arrived at the spot on bikes and attacked him. In her complaint to the police, Bikla Shiva’s mother, Vijayalakshmi, said she witnessed the murder from the balcony of her house.
Basavaraj, however, has denied the allegations against him, saying that they were “politically motivated”. “The property in question falls under the Mahadevapura Assembly segment. What interest will I have there? I don’t even know Shivaprakash. If he had complained, alleging that I was behind the death threats, why was I not questioned even once by the police?” the BJP MLA Basavaraj argued.