Main accused in assault on GBA officials collected money from footpath vendors, assets under lens

BENGALURU: A day after Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) staff were assaulted and attacked during the footpath eviction drive in Shivajinagar, the Bengaluru East Division Police have intensified investigation against the main accused, Basavaraj Padukote.

The encroached footpath is right next to the Shivajinagar bus stop. Basavaraj is a key person responsible for the encroachment. He was encroaching the footpath and reaping all the benefits from it and also had a shop on the footpath. Basavaraj was also collecting rent from it and, on top of that, he was allegedly collecting Rs 200 as ‘hafta’ from all shop owners on the footpath. This way, he was earning lakhs of rupees every month.

To establish his hold, he built a Ganesha temple on the footpath and put up a pole next to the Ganesha temple to tie a Kannada flag. Every year, Basavaraj would install a Ganesha idol to maintain his control and was collecting money from footpath vendors in the name of Kannada Sangha.

GBA ಅಧಿಕಾರಿಗಳು ಮತ್ತು ಕಾನೂನು ಸುವ್ಯವಸ್ಥೆಯ ಪರಿಸ್ಥಿತಿ! @GBA_office #CongressFailsKarnataka pic.twitter.com/KlbIlY3B0D

— Dr. C.N. Ashwath Narayan (@drashwathcn) July 21, 2026

When the footpath clearance began, Basavaraj thought the money coming to him would stop and hence, he planned the assault with his associates. Basavaraj was prepared in advance and had bought pepper spray, It is now revealed that that the assault was pre-planned.

Basavaraj’s driver purchased pepper spray as he had got information that the clearance operation was starting. He confirmed that there were no media or police, and then attacked. After the attack, there was a plan to bring in the Kannada flag and Ganesha temple issue. Most of those involved in the assault case have been arrested.

Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh said, “An incident happened yesterday and 10 people were arrested. At night, 2 more were added, totaling 12 arrests.This is being treated as a serious incident. Our police formed a team and took them into custody. Today, we will produce them in court and seek custody. The main accused is not from here, but we need to check why he came here. He has a history sheet in another police station and we will investigate why he came here. We will do what is required as per law.We will provide protection to GBA officials so that they face no trouble”.

Basavaraj is living a lavish life with money from hafta collection. He posed with several celebrities to build his image are available Following demands to seize Basavaraj’s assets, officials have also collected information about his properties. Officials have collected photos of a building under construction that belongs to Basavaraj.

I sincerely thank our GBA officers! Despite assault our team of officers with the Commissioner stood their ground and completed the footpath encroachment clearance on this stretch. Commendable courage under fire! Hats off!

ನಮ್ಮ GBA ಅಧಿಕಾರಿಗಳಿಗೆ ನನ್ನ ಹೃತ್ಪೂರ್ವಕ ಧನ್ಯವಾದಗಳು!… pic.twitter.com/31USyqWML1

— Krishna Byre Gowda (@krishnabgowda) July 21, 2026

Police along with GBA officials are also gathering information about how Basavaraj, who posed as a “superstar” by clicking photos with celebrities, was running a shop on the footpath and collecting rent. They are planning to seal the office of ‘Namma Karnataka Sene’ near Bowring Hospital in Shivajinagar.

Officials have already inspected Basavaraj Padukote’s ‘Namma Karnataka Sene’ office and learned from the building owner that he took it on rent claiming he would sell plumbing materials, but is now running it as an office. They are also checking whether he has a commercial licence for the office, and have instructed that if it’s found to be an illegal office, it should be seized.

Not just that, officials are also checking Basavaraj Padukote’s house and other properties. If tax hasn’t been paid, or if the house was built beyond the approved plan, they have a plan to run a “JCB operation” on it too.