Bannanje Raja meets his sick mother
Fugitive don spares time with his family amidst tight police security
Udupi, July 09: Underworld fugitive don Bannanje Raja, who has been in Belagavi jail for the last four years, met his sick mother at his home at Sasithota of Katapadi on Monday following the permission from the Principal District and Sessions Court and spent around 9 hours from morning to evening with his family amidst tight police security.
Bannanje Raja who came from Belagavi on Sunday and stayed in the Udupi city police station lock-up, was taken to his home at Sasithota on Monday at 9 am under the tight police security led by Udupi circle inspector Manjunath and allowed him to stay with his 80-year-old sick mother Vilasini.
During his visit, Raja’s father 81-year-old M Sundar, brother Arun and his wife, children, wife Vasanti and two children of another brother who died a few years ago, and Raja’s wife Sonam and his children who came from Bengaluru were present at the house. Mother of Bannanje Raja was a retired teacher, while his father was a retired revenue inspector.
When Arun brought breakfast, police verified it and allowed him to take it inside the house. For lunch, the family members prepared chicken curry, roti and fish dishes for Bannanje Raja, family sources said.
On Monday morning, SP Lakshman Nimbaragi, ASP Kumarachandra and Udupi DySP Kumaraswamy visited the house of Bannanje Raja and inspected it.
Bannanje Raja, who went underground in 2015, was arrested in Morocco in South Africa and brought him to Bengaluru. Being the accused in several cases including a murder in Karwar, shoot-out in Airodi Jewellers in Udupi and others, he was in Belagavi jail for the last four years.
Night stay in lock-up
The police brought Bannanje Raja from his home of Kalmadi to the city police station at 6 pm and kept him in the lock-up and he would spend his night in the lock-up.
Even in the lock-up, the police set up three CCTV cameras to keep a vigil on his movements. After conducting medical check up on him at the district hospital, he would be taken to the Belagavi jail with tight police security, police sources said.
House was under CCTV surveillance
From Malpe-Udupi main road, tight police security was deployed till his house, which is around 300 mts from the main road. DAR police were deployed on the main road and the interior road leading to his house. Apart from this, barricades were put up around 100 mts away from his house and in front of his house. Four CCTV cameras were installed inside and outside the house. Police security was beefed up around his house. No one including his relatives, neighbours and media persons was allowed inside the house.
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K'taka bypolls: 11.87 percent voter turnout in Bagalkot, 9.01 percent in Davanagere South till 9 am
Bengaluru (PTI): In the first two hours since voting began for bypolls to two Bagalkot and Davanagere South assembly constituencies, the voter turnout stood at 11.87 percent and 9.01 percent, respectively, on Thursday.
The voting for the bypolls in two constituencies necessitated by the deaths of senior Congress MLAs H Y Meti and Shamanur Shivashankarappa, began at 7 am, the office of the Chief Electoral Officer said.
While the Congress faces the challenge of retaining both seats, the BJP is aiming to wrest them and deliver a setback to the ruling party, which is currently witnessing an "internal power struggle" over leadership.
A total of over 2.59 lakh eligible voters are expected to cast their votes at around 319 polling stations in Bagalkot, where nine candidates are in the fray.
In Davanagere South, over 2.31 lakh eligible voters are expected to vote across 284 polling stations, with 25 candidates contesting.
Officials said elaborate security arrangements have been made for the smooth conduct of bypolls.
The BJP has fielded former MLA and 2023 defeated candidate Veerabhadrayya Charantimath from Bagalkot, and a fresh face, Srinivas T Dasakariyappa, from Davanagere South.
The Congress has given tickets to family members of the late legislators in both constituencies. Bagalkot candidate Umesh Meti is the son of H Y Meti, while Samarth Mallikarjun from Davanagere South is the grandson of Shamanur Shivashankarappa.
Samarth’s father, S S Mallikarjun, is a minister in the Siddaramaiah-led Cabinet and in charge of Davanagere district, while his mother, Prabha Mallikarjun, is a Member of Parliament from the region.
In the 2023 Assembly elections, H Y Meti defeated BJP’s Charantimath by a margin of 5,878 votes in Bagalkot, while Shivashankarappa defeated BJP’s B G Ajay Kumar by 27,888 votes in Davanagere South.
