BELAGAVI: The Karnataka Control of Organized Crimes Act special court in Belagavi on Wednesday held notorious gangster Bannaje Raja, who was extradited from Morocco in 2015, guilty along with eight others in the murder of Ankola-based businessman R N Nayak nine years ago.
Justice CM Joshi, Principal District and Sessions Judge and also the judge of KCOCA Special Court, pronounced the verdict. The quantum of punishment for all those convicted will be announced on April 4.
The sixth accused in the Nayak murder case Rabdin Salim Pichai of Kerala, 11th accused Mohammed Shabandari alias Babu of Bengaluru and 16th accused Anand Ramesh Naik of Uttara Kannada were acquitted for lack of evidence.
Abhi alias Ambaji Bhandagar of Bengaluru, Ganesh alias Manjunath alias Laxman Bhajantri of Udupi, KM Ismail of Kerala, Mahesh alias Achanagi Mahesh of Hassan, Santosh MB alias Sulya Santosh of Kerala, Bannanje Raja alias BR alias Rajendra Kumar of Udupi, Jagadish Chandraraj Urs of Bengaluru and Ankitkumar Kashyap of Uttar Pradesh have been convicted in the case.
Najeem Nilawar of Uttara Kannada, Haji Amin Pasha of Mangaluru and Suleman alias Sallu alias Bhaiyya of Bengaluru are absconding while the accused no. 1 Akash alias Vivekkumar Upadhyaya died in the shootout that happened on the day of the businessman's murder.
The businessman RN Naik was murdered in a contract killing on December 21, 2013 when he refused to give Rs 3 crore in extortion money. Underworld fugitive Bannanje Raja was facing 48 cases in Bengaluru, Mysuru, Mangaluru, Uttara Kannada, Shivamogga and Kerala. He was hiding abroad and was arrested by security agencies of Morocco on February 12, 2015 in a fake passport case. He was then brought to India on August 14, 2015. He was lodged in the central prison of Hindalga in Belagavi.
The Uttara Kannada district police which was conducting the investigation into the murder case had collected several pieces of information and evidence, filed charge sheets against 16 accused under COCCA act and submitted them to the court. In connection with this case, the court conducted the hearings for seven years. The then Assistant Superintendent of Police of Karkal sub-division of Uttara Kannada district, IPS officer Annamalai, who is presently the BJP leader in Tamil Nadu, and Western range IGP, IPS officer Pratap Reddy who is presently working as ADGP had played a key role in cracking the murder case. When the court had issued a notice to these officers, Annamalai and Pratap Reddy attended the court on 28 and 29 December 2021 in Belagavi and gave their statements. After all the hearings and examining the evidence, Justice Joshi pronounced the order convicting nine accused including Bannanje Raja among the 16 and reserved the quantum of punishment on April 4.
Special public prosecutor KG Puranikmath and additional public prosecutor Alwa worked in favour of the government in the case while advocate M Shantaram Shetti made arguments in favour of Bannanje Raja.