High Court grants anticipatory bail to five accused in Bantwal’s Abdul Rahman murder case

Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court has granted conditional anticipatory bail to five accused facing arrest under the Karnataka Control of Organised Crimes Act (KCOCA) in connection with the murder of Kolathmajalu Abdul Rahman at Irakodi in Bantwal, Dakshina Kannada district.

The accused are Pawan Maruti Gaikwad (A19), Anantha Nagoji Sawant (A21), Bittappa Nagappa Tarihal (A22), M. Naveen Kumar (A23) and Prathima A.N., a resident of Sagara and accused No. 20 in the case.

Justice S. Vishwajith Shetty of the High Court allowed the criminal petitions filed by the five accused, who had sought anticipatory bail fearing arrest.

The court observed that the mere inclusion of KCOCA provisions in a case does not automatically rule out the possibility of granting anticipatory bail. It held that if the provisions of the Act do not appear to be directly applicable to the accused at the preliminary stage, the restriction under Section 22(3) of KCOCA would not prevent the court from granting anticipatory bail.

The court imposed several conditions while granting the relief. The accused have been directed to appear before the investigating officer within 15 days of receiving a copy of the order. Each of them must execute a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh and furnish two sureties for the same amount.

They have also been directed to appear regularly before the trial court, cooperate with the investigation, and not threaten prosecution witnesses or tamper with evidence. They have further been barred from involving themselves in any criminal activity in the future.

During the hearing, senior advocate Arun Shyam, appearing for the petitioners, argued that the allegations against the accused were limited to providing shelter, food and money for travel to some of the main accused in the case, identified as A6 and A9 to A13.

He also submitted that the petitioners had no criminal antecedents and that the investigation had already been completed.

Abdul Rahman was allegedly murdered on May 27, 2025, in retaliation for the murder of Suhas Shetty. Kalandar Shafi was also injured in the incident.

Based on a complaint filed by Abdul Rahman's friend Mohammed Nisar, Bantwal Rural Police registered a criminal case. The police initially filed a chargesheet against 14 accused.

The KCOCA provisions were subsequently added through a supplementary chargesheet. In a second supplementary chargesheet, the five petitioners were also named as accused.

The Principal District and Sessions Court in Mysuru had earlier rejected their bail applications. They then approached the High Court seeking anticipatory bail.