On Saturday, 11th July, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested two more chargesheeted absconders in the 2022 murder case 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 two accused, Abdul Nasir P. and Naushad, were arrested during a coordinated operation conducted on Saturday, and the arrests were formally announced on Sunday, 12th July.
“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,” the NIA said in a statement.
Two key chargesheeted absconders in Praveen Nettaru murder case were arrested yesterday from Kochi and Hosur in a meticulous operation based on credible information from Andhra police. With this, total arrests in the case have risen to 25, while 3 accused are still absconding. pic.twitter.com/t7Cqd4drcu
— NIA India (@NIA_India) July 12, 2026
The agency said that both accused had earlier been chargesheeted under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for sheltering and assisting the main assailants involved in the targeted killing of Praveen Nettaru.
The two men had remained absconding for a long period, prompting the NIA Special Court in Bengaluru to issue Look Out Circulars (LOCs) and open-dated non-bailable warrants against them. The agency had also announced a reward of ₹4 lakh each for information leading to their arrest.
“With these arrests, a total of 24 accused have been arrested in the case so far, while three accused continue to remain absconding. Efforts are underway to trace and apprehend the remaining fugitives,” the NIA said in a statement.
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.
— ANI (@ANI) July 12, 2026
Abdul Nasir P alias Nasir and Naushad were nabbed… pic.twitter.com/GTNpx1uid4
Praveen Nettaru was a District Executive Committee member of BJP Yuva Morcha in Karnataka’s Dakshina Kannada district, and his murder in July 2022 had triggered widespread outrage across the state.
In July last year, the NIA arrested key accused Abdul Rahaman
The latest arrests come almost a year after the NIA arrested one of the key accused in the case, Abdul Rahaman, who had managed to evade arrest for nearly two years.
Rahaman was arrested by an NIA team on 4th July last year immediately after he arrived from Qatar at Kannur International Airport in Kerala. He was carrying a reward of ₹4 lakh announced by the agency.
The NIA described the arrest as a breakthrough in the investigation into the targeted killing of the BJP Yuva Morcha leader.
Absconder Wanted in Praveen Nettaru Murder Case Arrested by NIA on Arrival from Qatar pic.twitter.com/jqoYktY3UI
— NIA India (@NIA_India) July 4, 2025
Investigators confirmed that Rahaman had voluntarily provided shelter to the main assailants and others involved in the murder at the direction of senior leaders of the Popular Front of India (PFI). According to the agency, he fled to Qatar after the attackers were arrested and remained outside India for nearly two years.
Rahaman was among four accused who had been chargesheeted by the NIA in April, 2025, taking the total number of chargesheeted persons in the case to 28.
The agency had announced rewards for information regarding six absconders, with Rahaman being one of the most wanted among them.
Earlier investigations revealed links between the Nettaru murder and the Rudresh killing.
As investigations progressed, the NIA revealed that the murder of Praveen Nettaru was not an isolated incident but was linked to a larger conspiracy involving cadres associated with the banned terrorist outfit Popular Front of India. The agency’s findings drew parallels with the 2016 murder of RSS leader Rudresh in Bengaluru.
In March 2024, the NIA secured a breakthrough in the Rudresh case when Mohammad Ghaus Niazi, an accused linked to the banned PFI, was traced in South Africa and extradited to India.
Niazi had fled India after the murder and spent years moving across different countries before being tracked down with the help of Gujarat ATS and South African authorities.
Rudresh, an RSS worker, was murdered in Bengaluru’s Shivajinagar area in October 2016 while returning home after attending an RSS event. According to investigators, attackers lying in wait ambushed and killed him.
The NIA’s later investigations revealed that the conspiracy and operational structure used in the Rudresh murder eventually evolved into what investigators describe as organised “Service Teams” or “Killer Squads” that were later used in several targeted attacks, including the murder of Praveen Nettaru.
NIA’s revelations regarding PFI’s ‘Service Teams’
In January 2023, the NIA informed that the Popular Front of India had created covert operational units known internally as “Service Teams” or “Killer Squads” to carry out attacks against individuals identified as enemies by the organisation.
According to the agency’s chargesheet, these teams were formed to spread fear, create communal unrest and advance what investigators described as PFI’s long-term ideological objectives. “The investigations found that the PFI formed secret teams called Service Teams or Killer Squads to carry out killings of its perceived enemies and targets,” the NIA had stated in its chargesheet.
The agency said that members of these teams received weapons training, attack drills and surveillance training so that they could identify targets, track their movements and carry out attacks after receiving instructions from senior members of the organisation. Investigators found that these squads maintained information on individuals associated with particular organisations and communities and were trained specifically for targeted attacks.
The NIA further said that the decision to create these operational structures emerged after the murder of RSS leader Rudresh and the arrest of certain PFI functionaries in the case. The agency has repeatedly maintained that the Praveen Nettaru murder was part of this larger pattern of organised targeted violence.
NIA filed chargesheet against 20 accused in January 2023
On 20th January 2023, the NIA filed its first major chargesheet in the case before the NIA Special Court in Bengaluru against 20 accused.
NIA files Chargesheet against 20 accused in Praveen Nettaru Murder Case pic.twitter.com/tCf4ctcbKN
— NIA India (@NIA_India) January 23, 2023
The chargesheet stated that Praveen Nettaru was murdered by cadres and members associated with the Popular Front of India on 26th July 2022 in Bellare village of Sullia taluk in Dakshina Kannada district.
According to the NIA, the objective behind the murder was to create fear in society and spread terror among members of a particular community.
The case had initially been registered at Bellare Police Station as FIR No. 63/2022 on 27th July 2022 before being taken over and re-registered by the NIA on 4th August 2022. The agency said that meetings involving PFI members and leaders had taken place in Bengaluru, Sullia, and Bellare, during which discussions were held on identifying targets.
According to investigators, the District Service Team head, Mustafa Paichar, was instructed to identify a prominent member of a particular community. The NIA claimed that four individuals were surveyed before Praveen Nettaru was ultimately selected as the target.
The agency informed that Nettaru was attacked in public view using lethal weapons with the intention of creating fear and terror.
The 20 accused named in the initial chargesheet included Mahammed Shiyab, Abdul Basheer, Riyaz, Mustafa Paichar alias Mohammad Musthaf S, Masud K.A., Kodaje Mohammed Sherif, Abubakkar Siddik, Noufal M., Ismail Shafi K., K. Mohammed Iqbal, Shaheed M., Mohammed Shafeek G., Ummar Farook M.R., Abdul Kabeer C.A., Muhammad Ibrahim Sha, Sainul Abid Y., Sheikh Saddam Hussain, Zakiar A., N. Abdul Haris and Thufail M.H.
The accused were chargesheeted under sections related to criminal conspiracy, promoting enmity, murder and common intention under the Indian Penal Code, as well as provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Arms Act.
Among the accused named in the chargesheet, Mustafa Paichar, Masud K.A., Kodaje Mohammed Sherif, Abubakkar Siddik, Ummar Farook M.R. and Thufail M.H. were declared absconders and rewards were announced for information leading to their arrest.
The murder that triggered protests across Karnataka
On 26th July, 2022, Nettaru was hacked to death by Islamists. As per reports, the killers came on a bike in Bellari, Dakshina Kannada of Karnataka, in the late evening and attacked Nettaru with sharp weapons. Praveen Nettaru, who looked after a poultry business, was returning home when the attack happened. The assailants escaped after the attack. Praveen was rushed to the hospital, but he could not be saved.
Massive protests erupted after Praveen died in the city of Bellare and Sullia. While the outraged BJP Yuva Morcha members started to submit mass resignations, the members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad called for a bandh concerning the safety of Hindus in the state of Karnataka.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had taken over the probe and arrested two accused named Zakir and Mohammed Shafiq in connection with the murder. Investigations revealed that the duo had links with the Islamist organisation Popular Front of India (PFI) and the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI).
Nearly four years after the murder, the case remains one of the most closely watched investigations into targeted political killings in Karnataka, with the NIA continuing its efforts to trace the remaining 3 absconders and complete the prosecution of those accused in the case.
