Pramesh S Jain
Following the rejection of an anticipatory bail plea by the High Court on December 19 in connection with the murder of rowdy-sheeter Shivaprakash alias Biklu Shiva, CID officials have intensified efforts to trace the whereabouts of MLA Byrathi Basavaraj.
Byrathi Basavaraj,named as the fifth accused in the murder case,has already appeared twice for questioning before the CID.
With the High Court refusing to grant anticipatory bail citing the case being at a crucial stage of investigation, the legislator is now facing the threat of arrest.
While the High Court has quashed the CID’s order invoking the Karnataka Control of Organised Crime Act (KCOCA) in the case,it declined to provide relief to the accused at this stage of the probe.
The court,on December 19,held that granting anticipatory bail could hamper the ongoing investigation into the murder.
In the wake of the court’s order,CID officials have stepped up the investigation and launched a search operation to apprehend Byrathi Basavaraj.
Sources said the MLA is not present in Bengaluru, prompting CID teams to conduct searches in neighbouring states,including Goa and Pune.
