(MENAFN- IANS)
Belagavi, (Karnataka) April 4 (IANS) The Karnataka Control of Organised Crimes Act (KCOCA) Special Court awarded life imprisonment to international gangster and fugitive underworld don Bannanje Raja known as the 'threat king' and 7 other accused on Monday in connection with the killing of BJP leader and industrialist of coastal Karnataka, R.N. Nayak. The accused were pronounced guilty earlier by the special court.
The court has also directed the authorities to pay Rs 30 lakh compensation to the wife of deceased industrialist Nayak. The court has asked the Superintendent of Police of Uttara Kannada district and the Police Commissioner of Mysuru City to ensure security to the woman and her son who gave evidence against the accused persons.
K.G. Puranikamatha, the Special Public Prosecutor, stated after the verdict that the accused should have been given the capital punishment and they would go for an appeal demanding the death penalty in the High Court.
Along with Bannanje Raja, the court has sentenced Jagadish Patel, the prime accused in the case from Uttar Pradesh, Abhi Bhandagar from Bengaluru, Ganesh Bhajanthri from Udupi, Mahesh Achangi from Hassan, M.B. Santhosh from Kerala, Jagadish Chandraraj from Bengaluru and Ankit Kumar Kashyap from Uttar Pradesh to life imprisonment.
The fifth accused in the case K.M. Ismail from Kerala has been sentenced to 13 years' imprisonment and the court has imposed a fine of Rs 15,000 on him.
Bannanje Raja is the 9th accused in the case. He was involved in several serious criminal cases in the coastal districts of Karnataka, Bengaluru and Maharashtra like murder, attempt to murder, kidnappings and extortion.
Special Court judge C.M. Joshi pronounced the order. The court had earlier acquitted the 6th accused Rabdin Pichai, 11th accused Mohammad Shabandri, a resident of Bengaluru and 16th accused Anand Ramesh Nayak from Uttara Kannada in the case.
The shootout occurred on December 21, 2013 in Ankola in Uttara Kannada district for refusing to shell out Rs 3 crore as protection money. The police had used the KCOCA Act against the accused persons and this was the first case registered under the KCOCA Act in the state.
Special Public Prosecutor S.B. Puranik Math and Additional Public Prosecutor Shivaprasad Alva had argued against the accused. Alva had stated that through the judgment the court has sent a message to the society. The police and prosecution have successfully pursued the legal action against the anti-social elements.
When asked whether he faced any threats since the case involved gangster Bannanje Raja, he stated that he has to deliver on the responsibilities placed on him by the government. This judgment shows that no one is above the law. The law takes its own course. If the police and prosecution pursue the case unitedly, legal action against any criminal is ensured, he said.
Bannanje Raja had made an extortion call and demanded Rs 3 crore protection money from the deceased Nayak. When he refused to pay, the accused had him killed despite police protection.
Furthermore, he had called up media houses from a foreign location and claimed that he had got Nayak killed, severely embarrassing the state and central investigation agencies.
Various judges had heard the case for over 7 years. More than 210 witnesses recorded their statements and the prosecutors had produced 1,000 pages of documentary proof.
The police had filed a charge sheet in 2013, with charges against 16 persons who were associates and sharp shooters of Bannanje Raja.
Rajendra Shetty a.k.a Bannanje Raja is involved in 44 serious criminal offences including murder, extortion and kidnapping. The authorities had got an Interpol red corner notice issued against Raja and he was nabbed from Casablanca in Morocco. Later, he was extradited to Karnataka.
Raja is an arts graduate and worked as a bus agent in Udupi and Bengaluru. He soon started calling businessmen for ransom and as his crime graph grew he went to Dubai and later settled in Morocco.
--IANS
mka/bg
MENAFN04042022000231011071ID1103960851
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.