On Thursday 11th August 2022, three main accused in the Praveen Nettaru murder case were arrested. Mangaluru police nabbed the suspects near Talapady check post at 8 pm on Thursday morning. ADGP Law and Order Alok Kumar informed that the arrested accused are identified as Shiyabuddin Ali and Bashir from Sullia and Riyaz from Subramanya. He also suspected that the arrested accused can be linked with the Islamic organisation Popular Front of India and its political wing the Social Democratic Party of India.
On July 26, Praveen Nettaru was killed by Islamists in front of his workplace in Bellare in Karnataka. Seven people who planned the murder were already apprehended. ADGP Alok Kumar said, “Today around 8 am, Dakshina Kannada police nabbed 3 people who were involved in the murder. Earlier we had arrested 7 people who were part of the conspiracy. So, a total of 10 people have been arrested. Now we are going to ask for police custody and after obtaining custody for all three, we are going to question them thoroughly. All these factors will be brought on the record and after that, we will hand over the case to the NIA. An order has already been issued in that regard.”
ADGP Law and Order Alok Kumar said, “The motive behind the killing is yet to be ascertained. We suspect that the trio has links with SDPI and PFI. We will establish the link after gathering evidence. Immediately after the crime, they escaped to Kerala and kept on changing their location.”
After Praveen Nettaru was killed by the Islamists, there was a massive reaction in the Dakshina Kanna district of Karnataka. Many workers of the Bharatiya Janata Party protested on the streets and demanded protection for Hindus.
Earlier, two theories had emerged about the murder of Praveen Nettaru. One is that he was killed because he posted on social media supporting Kanhaiya Lal, who was beheaded by Jihadis recently for supporting Nupur Sharma. The second theory was that he may have been murdered as retaliation for the death of a Muslim man, who had been beaten up by Hindus after he had beaten up a Hindu youth.