The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested another accused in connection with the murder of Karnataka BJP Yuva Morcha leader Praveen Nettaru. He has been identified as Thufail. The murderer was absconding and had a reward of Rs. 5 lakh on his head. He is a member of the banned Islamist organization PFI.
He was taken into custody on Saturday night at 9.30 p.m. in Bengaluru’s Amruthahalli police station boundaries, close to the Dasarahalli area.
According to reports, NIA officials disguised as a plumber and an auto driver went to ho his house on Saturday at around 9.30 PM after getting information about his presence there. They found Thufail in his house, and nabbed him.
NIA is investigating for how long he had been staying in Bengaluru, and what identification documents he was using for the purpose.
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said that the agencies had prior information about Thufail, based on which he was arrested. “We already had information regarding this and were keeping track,” the CM said.
In January, a chargesheet was submitted by the NIA before a Special NIA court in Bengaluru in the Praveen Nettaru murder case. In it, 20 individuals were identified as accused in the murder case of the Bhartiya Janta Party youth leader.
He was hacked to death by the extremists of Popular Front of India, on July 26 last year, in front of his broiler chicken shop in Bellare village, by three bike-borne people.
Bellare Police lodged a case and was looking into the matter, but later on, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs handed it over to the NIA.
Praveen Nettaru was killed “with the intention to strike terror in the society and create fear among the people,” the agencies had revealed. “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,” stated an NIA officer.
In order to recognize, track down, and mount surveillance on individuals or leaders belonging to specific communities and groupings, these Service Team members received guns and attack training, as well as instruction in surveillance tactics, he added. He informed, “They were trained to assault and kill identified targets, on the instructions of senior PFI leaders.”
Notably, on September 27 of last year, PFI was banned by the centre government for indulging in anti-India activities and its close ties with outlawed Islamist organization Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI).