Bengaluru: Karnataka BJP MLA Byrathi Basavaraj was arrested on Thursday at Bengaluru International Airport, nearly eight months after being named an accused in the sensational murder of real estate operator VG Shivaprakash, popularly known as Bikla Shiva. The KR Pura legislator was taken into custody by the CID shortly after arriving from Ahmedabad, ending months of legal maneuvering.
The arrest followed Basavaraj’s withdrawal of his bail petition from the Supreme Court on Wednesday, after the CID filed a caveat seeking to be heard before any relief could be granted. Earlier, the Karnataka High Court had rejected the MLA’s anticipatory bail plea on February 10 and cancelled the interim protection granted to him on December 26, 2025.
Bikla Shiva, known for intervening in property disputes, was brutally attacked outside his residence near Halasuru Lake in Bengaluru on July 15, 2025.
Police said a group of eight to nine men, armed with iron rods and machetes, carried out a swift assault around 8.10 pm, fleeing immediately in a white SUV accompanied by two-wheelers.
Basavaraj is listed as accused number five in the case and is scheduled to be produced before the Special Court for Elected Representatives on Friday.
The Supreme Court bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi allowed the MLA to withdraw his plea, granting him liberty to apply for regular bail after surrendering.
The court clarified it had not expressed any opinion on the merits of the case and asked the trial court to decide the bail application expeditiously.
Following the High Court’s rejection of anticipatory bail, the CID issued a lookout notice for Basavaraj, citing the need for custodial interrogation.
The High Court, in its February 10 order, described anticipatory bail as “extraordinary relief” and underlined the need to examine call detail records, location data, photographs, and allegations of witness intimidation.
Justice Sunil Dutt Yadav noted that interim bail had been granted at a stage when the court had not reviewed the CID’s complete submissions.
According to the CID, Basavaraj misled investigators during July 2025 questioning by claiming unfamiliarity with key accused. Call records, mobile location data, and social media photographs suggested otherwise, including a joint trip to Prayagraj for the Kumbh Mela in February 2025.
Nineteen of the 20 accused have already been arrested in connection with the murder. The CID’s invocation of the Karnataka Control of Organised Crime Act (KCOCA) in August 2025 was later quashed by the High Court in December 2025, a decision the agency has challenged in the Supreme Court.
During hearings on Basavaraj’s anticipatory bail plea, the CID presented records suggesting his links with several accused, including Jagadish alias Jaga, Kiran K, and Ajith Kumar. The prosecution also highlighted that the victim’s mother, who initially named the MLA as an accused, had been pressured into retracting her statement but later testified about threats her son had received.
With Basavaraj’s surrender imminent, the case now enters a critical judicial phase. The Special Court for Elected Representatives is expected to take up the MLA’s bail proceedings on Friday, bringing the months-long legal saga of one of Karnataka’s most politically charged murder cases to a pivotal moment.
