Suspected Maoist B.G. Krishnamurthy, who once led the team of Naxals in Karnataka, was presented before the Principal District and Session Judge in Shivamogga on January 31. Shivamogga police brought him from Kerala for a hearing in cases filed against him at Agumbe Police Station in Thirthahalli taluk.
The charges were framed in connection with a blast at the forest gate in Agumbe and a robbery at Bidaragodu in Thirthahalli taluk. He would be presented in court again on February 1 in connection with setting ablaze a KSRTC bus at Agumbe in July 2007. Krishnamurthy faces charges under various sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the Arms Act, and the Explosive Substances Act.
Krishnamurthy, a native of Sringeri in Chikkamagaluru district, was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on the border of Karnataka and Kerala in November 2023. As many as five cases had been booked against him in Shivamogga district. During previous hearings, he was produced in court from Thrissur jail in Kerala through video conferencing.
K.P. Sripal, advocate representing Krishnamurthy, told mediapersons that he faces 62 cases in Kerala and Karnataka. He would appear in the Shivamogga court on February 1 in connection with the case of setting a KSRTC bus ablaze. “Charges were framed in two cases. One more case would be taken up on February 1. Later, he would be taken to Bengaluru for court proceedings with regard to 18 cases of the National Investigation Agency.”
Shivamogga district police had made additional security arrangements in the court complex during the day’s proceedings. He was taken to the Central prison in Shivamogga after the hearing.
