Belagavi (Karnataka), Dec 29 (IANS): Tamil Nadu BJP chief and former IPS officer K. Annamalai on Wednesday recorded his statement in a murder case against underworld don Bannanje Raja in a special court in Karnataka's Belgavi.

Annamalai was a witness in the case, being heard by the Special Karnataka Control of Organised Crime Act (KCOCA) Court, of the sensational murder of industrialist R.N. Nayak in Ankola town of Uttara Kannada district on Dec 21, 2013.

This, incidentally, is the first case under KCOCA being heard in the state.

Annmalai, while serving as an IPS officer in Karnataka, was the investigation officer in the murder case. He came down to Belagavi on Tuesday and stayed in the city till he recorded his statement on Wednesday.

Senior IPS officers, ADGP Pratap Reddy, and former Bengaluru Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao also attended the court proceedings and recorded their witness statements.

Karnataka Police department has filed a case against Raja and 15 others in connection with Nayak's murder.

The state police had taken Raja, who was hiding in a foreign location, into custody in August 2016.