The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday directed the police in the state’s Ramanagara district not to take coercive action against the second wife of deceased underworld operative Muthappa Rai in a case of alleged firing on Muthappa’s younger son Ricky Rai near his farmhouse in Bidadi recently.
Early on April 19, unidentified persons allegedly shot at Ricky, 35, in what is believed to be a fallout of disputes over Muthappa’s properties. Ricky has been looking after Muthappa’s businesses since his death in 2020. Ricky suffered injuries to his nose and right shoulder after bullets allegedly fired at him pierced through the body of his Toyota Fortuner car. Ricky was admitted to a hospital and was reportedly discharged later.
Anuradha Muthappa Rai, 52, the second wife of Muthappa, approached the high court after she was named as the second accused in the alleged firing incident in the wake of a First Information Report (FIR) filed on a complaint by Ricky’s driver G Basavaraju.
The high court, in an interim order, said the police can “proceed with the investigation in accordance with law and shall not summon the petitioner without following due process of law”. It added that the police “shall not take any coercive action against the petitioner, till the next date of hearing, subject to the petitioner’s co-operation with the investigation.”
In her writ petition, Anuradha sought the quashing of the FIR registered against her at the Bidadi police station in Ramanagara district, which borders the city of Bengaluru.
The police said they are still investigating the claim of firing since there appeared to be several loopholes in the version narrated by Ricky’s driver Basavaraju.
The FIR has also named Muthappa’s former associate-turned-foe Rakesh Malli, real estate businessman Nitesh Shetty, and his associate Vaidyanathan as suspects in the firing incident. On Tuesday, the Ramanagara police questioned Malli, who is a Congress leader, in connection with the firing. Malli had a falling out with Muthappa prior to the latter’s death over properties held by the underworld operative.
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