BENGALURU:On the run for 18 years, gangster Bannanje Raja is finally in the custody of the Karnataka Police. A special team of six police officers brought him from Morocco to Bengaluru on Friday. Raja was arrested in Morocco on the basis of an Interpol red-corner Notice for multiple crimes in India.
From Bengaluru, the police team flew him to Belagavi to produce him before a court in connection with a 2013 murder. Raja was then taken to Udupi, where he will remain in police custody till August 28.
India got Raja extradited by submitting details of cases against him in a court in Morocco, after he was arrested by the Morocco police on February 12. The Indian Embassy, with the CBI’s Interpol division, completed the extradition.
A native of coastal Karnataka, Raja had left for Dubai in 1996. He was then part of what was called the Malpe gang, notorious for its brawls.
Accused of criminal activities since his college days, Raja allegedly killed one Kokkarne Kushala Shetty in 1991. He shifted to Bengaluru, where he was arrested there for possession of arms and ammunition.
He allegedly held fake passports in the names of Krishnakumar Kankanadi and Rahim Kaleel, issued in Mumbai, Bengaluru and Mangaluru. He was possessing a fake passport in the name of Kumar Hemanth Hegde in Morocco.
He had allegedly threatened Dubai-based hotelier Praveen Shetty and tried to extort Rs 5 crore from him. The businessman had approached the police and assisted them in locating Raja after the gangster fled to Dubai from Mumbai, and then to Morocco.
Who is BR: Born in a middle class family in 1968, Rajendrakumar aka Bannanje Raja completed his primary education in Kalmadi. His parents Sundar Shettigar and Vilasini were both teachers and he is their only son.
While pursuing his BA at Poornapragna College, Mangaluru, Raja got involved in brawls during student union elections.
His name first appeared in a murder case in the 1990s, after which he rose in the list of rowdies of the coastal city. He was also running a small-time real estate business. Later, Raja shifted to Bengaluru and got involved in underworld activities.
Effects of Raja’s arrest: The underworld dons in touch with Raja fear he might reveal their names to police, though his arrest comes as a relief to Mangaluru businessmen who often got extortion calls from him.
Raja also had the knack of winning over politicians. “While he was in Mangaluru and Mumbai, he had the support of a few local politicians. Even in Morocco, he had friends among politicians,” a source said.