Underworld gangster Bannanje Raja among 9 found guilty of murdering businessman R N Nayak

Raja was known to extort money from businessmen through his syndicate B.R. Company. He had made a similar ransom call to industrialist R N Naik who refused to pay the money. He was eventually shot dead by four assailants.

Belagavi (Karnataka): The special court for Karnataka Control of Organised Crime Act (KCOCA) has held notorious gangster Bannaje Raja guilty along with eight others in the murder of BJP leader and businessman R N Nayak in 2013. Raja was extradited from Morocco in 2015. Principal district and sessions judge Belagavi district court C.M. Joshi delivered the verdict. The quantum of the sentence will be announced on April 4.

The other eight convicts include Jagdish Patel, Abhi Bhandagar, Ganesha Bhajantri, KM Ismail, Mahesh Achhangi, Santhosha M B, Jagadish Chandraraj, and Ankit Kumar Kashyap. Three of the accused - Rabdin Fichai of Kerala, Mohammed Shabandari of Bangalore, and Ananda Ramesh of Uttara Kannada - were acquitted by the court.

A most-wanted criminal, Raja had over 44 cases against him. He was known to extort money from businessmen through his syndicate B.R. Company. He had made a similar ransom call to industrialist R N Naik who refused to pay the money. Naik was eventually shot dead by four assailants, one of whom was gunned down by his security at Ankola in Uttara Kannada district back in December 2013.

As the investigation proceeded, Raja who had gone underground was finally extradited from Morocco in 2015. Meanwhile, police had filed the charge sheet naming 16 accused. Following it, several judges heard the case with over 200 witnesses including some senior police officers recording their statements. This was the first case to be filed under the KCOC Act in Karnataka. Special prosecutor KG Puranikamath and additional prosecutor Shivaprasad Alva appeared on behalf of the government.