NIA Arrests Two Absconders in Praveen Nettaru Murder Case

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested two absconding accused in the 2022 murder of BJP Yuva Morcha leader Praveen Nettaru, taking the total number of arrests in the case to 24. Three accused are still on the run.

“The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested two key absconders in connection with the brutal targeted killing of local BJP leader Praveen Nettaru by cadres of the banned Popular Front of India (PFI) in Karnataka in 2022. Abdul Nasir P alias Nasir and Naushad were nabbed respectively from Kochi (Kerala) and Hosur (Tamil Nadu) on Saturday in a meticulous operation carried out across the two states based on credible information from Andhra Pradesh police,” NIA said in a statement.

NIA had earlier chargesheeted Abdul Nasir and Naushad in Praveen Nettaru Muder Case under various sections of IPC and UA (P) Act for knowingly and voluntarily harbouring the main assailants who had murdered Praveen Nettaru.

A Look Out Circular (LOC) and an Open dated Warrant of Arrest had also been issued against the chargesheeted accused by the NIA Special Court, Bengaluru. The NIA had also announced a reward of Rs.4,00,000 each for any information about their whereabouts.

Praveen Nettaru, a BJP Yuva Morcha district executive committee member, was hacked to death by three unidentified assailants on July 26, 2022, near his poultry shop at Mastikatte in Bellare village of Dakshina Kannada district. According to the police, Nettaru had closed his Akshaya Fresh Chicken Farm around 8.30 pm and was about to leave on his scooter when the attackers, who arrived on a motorcycle, assaulted him with lethal weapons before fleeing towards Puttur. The murder had triggered widespread protests and heightened security in the region before the investigation was handed over to the NIA.