On Friday, July 29, Karnataka chief minister CM Basavaraj Bommai said the National Investigation Agency (NIA) would probe the murder of BJP Yuva Morcha worker Praveen Nettaru.
Praveen Nettaru, a Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha member, was hacked to death on July 26 by two bike-borne assailants, triggering massive outrage among the ranks of BJP Yuva Morcha, who started to furnish mass resignations to protest against his murder.
The two assailants, however, were arrested on Thursday in connection with the murder of BJP youth wing leader Praveen Nettaru. The arrested accused have been identified as Zakir (29) from Savanoor in Haveri district and Mohammed Shafiq (27) from Bellare. Police said the two accused are allegedly behind the conspiracy to murder Nettaru.
Praveen Nettaru murder accused linked to Islamist organisation PFI
The duo reportedly have links with the Islamist organisation Popular Front of India (PFI).
According to reports, the wife of Shafiq has confirmed that her husband was an active member of the PFI and that he used to participate in all the ‘social’ activities. She also said that on the day of the incident, he was not at home hinting that he might be involved in executing the murder of the BJP youth member. “My husband was a PFI member. He was aware that the murder took place,” Shafiq’s wife told India Today.
Shafiq is also associated with SDPI (Social Democratic Party of India) and has organized various ‘social’ events. The wife after the arrest while talking to the media also said that initially, her husband was not aware of the murder. Later he had tears in his eyes when he came to know about who was murdered in the village. Meanwhile, a video report by News18 also shows Safiq’s picture at an SDPI event.