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New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested a wanted criminal, who was carrying a reward of Rs five lakh on his head in connection with the murder of Karnataka BJP Yuva Morcha leader Praveen Nettaru. The arrested accused was identified as Thufail. The NIA in an advertisement had said that Thufail is a PFI member and is wanted by the agency in the Praveen Nettaru murder case and whoever will provide information leading to his arrest will be rewarded.
According to information, the arrest was made Saturday night in Bengaluru.A total of 20 people were named as the accused in the chargesheet filed by the NIA in the murder case of Praveen Nettaru.
In January, the NIA charge-sheeted 20 accused in the matter before a Special NIA court in Bengaluru.Nettaru, a resident of Bellare and a BJP member, was killed with sharp weapons allegedly by cadres of the now-banned Popular Front of India (PFI) on July 26 last year.
Bellare Police lodged a case and was looking into the matter but later on the Union Ministry of Home Affairs handed over the NIA. During the NIA probe, it was revealed that a conspiracy had been hatched by leaders and members of the PFI to murder Nettaru to take revenge and to strike terror among the people of society.
The case was initially registered at Bellare police station in Dakshina Kannada district on July 27, 2022, and re-registered by the NIA on August 4, 2022. The NIA has said, “Investigations revealed that the PFI, as part of its agenda to create terror, communal hatred and unrest in society and to further its agenda of establishing Islamic rule by 2047, formed secret teams called ‘Service Teams or Killer Squads’ to carry out killings of its ‘perceived enemies’ and targets. These Service Team members were given arms as well attack training, and training in surveillance techniques in order to identify, list out and to mount surveillance on leaders belonging to certain communities and groups. These Service Team members were further trained to kill identified targets, on the instructions of senior PFI leaders.”
The charge sheet says that meetings of the PFI members and leaders were held at Bengaluru city, Sullia Town and Bellare village. The head of District Service Team, Mustafa Paichar was instructed to recce, identify and target a prominent member of a particular community.The PFI members as per instructions, recced and identified four persons and among them was Praveen Nettaru. They killed him in full public view with lethal weapons to create terror among the people at large and especially among the members of a particular community.
The accused Mahammed Shiyab, Abdul Basheer, Riyaz, Mustafa Paichar, Masud K.A., Kodaje Mohammed Sherif, Abubakkar Siddik, Noufal M., Ismail Shafi K., K. Mahammad Iqbal, Shaheed M., Mahammad Shafeek G., Ummar Farook M.R., Abdul Kabeer C.A., Muhammad Ibrahim Sha, Sainul Abid Y., Shekh Saddam Hussain, Zakiar A., N. Abdul Haris and Thufail M.H. have been charge-sheeted under sections of 120B, 153A, 302 and 34 of IPC and sections 16, 18 and 20 of the UA (P) Act, 1967, Section 25(1)(a) of the Arms Act.
Among the charge-sheeted accused, Mustafa Paichar, Masud K.A., Kodaje Mohammed Sherif, Abubakkar Siddik, Ummar Farook M.R. and Thufail M.H. are currently absconding and rewards have been declared for information leading to their arrest.
