Bengaluru Murder: BJP MLA Byrathi Basavaraj Named in FIR
The killing of Shivakumar, alias Biklu Shiva, a realtor with a history of criminal involvement, in Bengaluru, India, has sparked a major political controversy in the state of Karnataka. The daylight murder, which occurred outside Shiva’s home in Hesaraghatta, involved several bike-borne assailants who fatally attacked him while he was speaking with his driver and a friend.
The case took a dramatic turn when Vijayalakshmi Shivakumar, Shiva's mother, reported that she witnessed the attack from her balcony. In a chilling statement, she directly implicated Byrathi Basavaraj, a BJP MLA representing KR Puram and a former minister, as the mastermind behind the murder.
Basavaraj is listed as accused number five in the FIR, alongside four other individuals: Jagadish, Kiran, Vinod, and Anil. The alleged motive appears to stem from a land dispute. Shiva had acquired a general power of attorney for a plot of land in 2023, constructing a shed and housing labourers on the property.
However, in February, the accused allegedly stormed the site, threatened the workers, and ordered Shiva to vacate the land. Furthermore, Mrs Shivakumar stated that her son had previously reported death threats to the city police commissioner, specifically naming Basavaraj as the source of the threats.