The Udupi police produced underworld don Bannanje Raja before the principal civil judge (senior division) and chief judicial magistrate here on Saturday. The court has remanded him to nine days of police custody.
Superintendent of Police Annamalai told reporters that Raja was produced before the Belagavi court, as the 15 days’ police custody given to the accused ended on August 28, in connection with the interrogation pertaining to the 2013 murder in Ankola of R N Nayak, BJP leader from Uttara Kannada district. The SP said the interrogation was incomplete. The Nayak murder case is being tried under KCOCA (Karnataka Control of Organised Crime Act-2000). Under KCOCA, there is a privilege for one month of police custody as against Indian Penal Code, which limits the period to 15 days. The Belagavi court had remanded the don in judicial custody and he was sent to the Belagavi jail.
The Udupi police appealed for the body warrant before the Udupi court. It was secured and the same was produced before the Belagavi court, which handed over the accused to the Udupi police. The don would be interrogated in four cases as per the extradition treaty signed by the Indian and Moroccan governments.
He said that the first interrogation of the don would be regarding the Irody jewellery shop theft reported on August 19, 2011. He is chargesheeted as the sixth offender among seven suspects.
The police would look into all his contacts, before deciding over appealing for police custody for 15 days in the case, said the SP who is the investigating officer. The police has sought 15 days police custody, but the court remanded him to nine days police custody.
The SP said the murder case in Brahmavar, wherein the involvement of Raja seems ascertained, would be reopened. However, the case would not be investigated.
Senior assistant public prosecutor Shanthibai said the supplementary charge sheet would be filed in the theft case against Raja. All the five were arrested and two are serving jail term. The suspects are Ali Hussein from Uttar Pradesh, Vinod Kulal, Devdas Shetty from Mangaluru, Manish Kumar, Javed alias Ajay from UP and Godha Shet from Bihar, besides Bannanje Raja. She said all were tried in the court of law, except Raja and Shet. Shet is at large, Shanthibai said.
Published 29 August 2015, 20:43 IST