K.R. Puram MLA Byrathi Basavaraj arrested after SC rejects bail plea

A video footage of former Minister and BJP MLA Byrathi Basavaraj being taken into custody.

Hours after the Supreme Court rejected his bail plea, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) arrested BJP’s KR Puram MLA Byrathi Basavaraj from the Kempegowda International Airport on Thursday evening.

Mr. Basavaraj, who was allegedly involved in the ‘Biklu’ Shiva murder case, had approached the Supreme Court seeking bail after the Karnataka High Court rejected his plea.

CID officials had questioned him twice before and asked him to appear for further questioning, but Mr Basavaraj was subsequently not traced and no application for anticipatory bail was made for fear of arrest.

The CID started searching for him after the Supreme Court rejected his bail plea and even Home Minister G. Parameshwara advised him to surrender. Mr. Basavaraj then approached the Supreme Court seeking bail, but the request was rejected.

CID officials were at the airport when he arrived there from Ahemedabad on Wednesday and arrested Mr. Basavaraj and took him to the CID headquarters.

As part of the procedure, he will undergo a medical examination and be produced before a magistrate to be kept in police custody for further investigation.

BJP MLA has been named as accused number 5 in the ‘Bikla’ Shiva murder case. VG Shivaprakash alias Bikla Shiva (44), a chronicler with more than 12 criminal cases against him, was brutally hacked to death by a gang in Bharathi Nagar on the night of July 15, 2025, allegedly over a business rivalry in the real estate sector.

According to police, Shiva, who has a reputation for staking claims on disputed properties and is often described as a real estate fraudster rather than a traditional gangster, was summoned from his home by the accused on the pretext of a meeting. When he stepped onto the crowded street outside his home, the attackers allegedly attacked him with lethal weapons in front of everyone.

According to the family of the deceased and the police quoting sources, the murder appears to have been motivated by ongoing disputes linked to real estate matters.

The Bengaluru police First Information Report (FIR) named Jagadish Padmanabha (42), identified as a close associate of BJP MLA Byrathi Basavaraj, as the Accused (A1). The three alleged henchmen were listed as A2, A3 and A4. Mr. Basavaraj was named as Accused No. 5 (A5) in the case.