One after the other, National Investigation Agency (NIA) findings are revealing shocking details of the gruesome murder of Karnataka BJP youth leader Praveen Nettaru last year. In the latest, NIA findings reveal the shocking details of how the crime was planned and executed by the banned Islamist outfit Popular Front of India (PFI).
NIA has revealed that the PFI had hidden lethal weapons like machetes in Mosques, Madrasas, and houses. The PFI ‘Killer Squad’ had marked 21 such Mosques where they could hide the weapons to use when required. The PFI carried out Nettaru’s murder to avenge one Kalanja Masood’s murder. Nettaru’s killers had received training in Kerala’s Idukki.
In an even more shocking revelation, it has come to light that Praveen Nettaru had already learned about the murder plot. Moreover, he had told his friend Charan Raj that he had been followed by someone for months. In addition, he requested the installation of a CCTV in front of his store for safety and security. The audio recording of Praveen speaking to his friend has been confiscated by the NIA officers.
The NIA has filed a chargesheet against 20 members of the PFI for murdering Praveen Nettaru in July last year. Last week, the probe agency informed a special court that Nettaru was murdered by a killer squad of the PFI as part of its plan to instil terror into a “specific community” (Hindus) and further their agenda of “Islamic rule in India by 2047.”
NIA files Chargesheet against 20 accused in Praveen Nettaru Murder Case pic.twitter.com/tCf4ctcbKN
— NIA India (@NIA_India) January 23, 2023
The NIA also stated that the PFI had formed covert units known as “Service Teams” or “Killer Squads” to carry out the murder of its “perceived enemies” and targets.
According to the charge sheet, PFI’s secret team or “Service Team” members received weapons, attack training, and training in surveillance techniques in order to locate, list, and mount surveillance on people/leaders associated with particular communities and groups. The trained members of these ‘secret teams’ were then instructed by senior PFI leaders to kill or assault their targets.
According to the chargesheet, “four people were recced and identified as per instructions, and among them was Praveen Nettaru, a BJP Yuva Morcha District Committee Member, who was assaulted and killed on July 26, 2022, in full view of the public with lethal weapons to instill fear among the general populace and specifically among members of a particular community.”