From budding robber to feared gangster: Naga's infamous journey and viral jail photo with Kannada actor Darshan

BENGALURU: Notorious rowdy Nagaraj alias Wilson Garden Naga became infamous across the state after a photo of him chilling out with actor Darshan on the premises of Central Prison, Bengaluru, went viral on Aug 25.A wannabe don of Bengaluru, he faces 25 criminal cases. The 26th case against him was lodged at Parappana Agrahara for his prison rendezvous with Darshan.Naga, 38, is from Vinayaka Nagar slum in Wilson Garden area. He became infamous as Wilson Garden Naga after the first rowdy-sheet was opened against him at the jurisdictional police station. At present, he is a rowdy-sheeter at five police stations, including Siddapura and Kalasipalya.Naga started committing crimes before he turned 18, police said. As a minor, he committed a vehicle theft. The first case registered against him after he became an adult was in 2004 for robbing a person of valuables, including cash and gold. Naga's parents are labourers from Tamil Nadu, who came to Bengaluru four decades ago. They have three children, including Naga, another son and a daughter.When he was arrested and lodged in prison in the 2004 robbery case, Naga befriended other inmates who were members of notorious gangs. He realised that vehicle thefts and robberies wouldn't fetch him good money or make him famous and decided to join forces with the gangsters.He made friends with criminals from different gangs such as Cycle Ravi and Double Meter Mohan, and over a period, he became a close aide of rowdy Silent Sunila after meeting him in prison. Sunila was Naga's guru since 2006 and stayed with him till 2019. He got involved in murders, robbery, extortion, kidnapping, real estate deals and other crimes. In 2019, Double Meter Mohan killed a rival, Shanthinagar Linga, who was an aide of Sunila. When Sunila's associates wanted to take revenge on Mohan, Naga backed the latter. This led to his split from Sunila.Naga then formed his own gang and tried to overtake other rowdies. A person named Madan had financed Linga's murder. In revenge, Madan was killed by Siddapura Mahesh and his associates. To avenge Madan's murder, a person named Babli was killed in Adugodi. Siddapura Mahesh then hatched a plan to kill Naga. Whens Naga got a tip-off about it, he formed a 10-member team, including an associate who clicked the controversial prison photo of Darshan. Naga and two others killed Mahesh, police said.