New Delhi, July 12 (IANS) The National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested two key absconders in connection with the targeted killing of local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Praveen Nettaru by cadres of the banned Popular Front of India (PFI) in Karnataka in 2022, an official said on Sunday.

Abdul 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 the Andhra Pradesh Police, the NIA said.

With these two arrests, the total number of accused taken into custody in the case goes up to 24, with three accused still absconding, the NIA said.

The NIA had earlier charge sheeted Abdul Nasir and Naushad in the Praveen Nettaru murder case under various sections of IPC and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for knowingly and voluntarily harbouring the main assailants who had murdered Praveen Nettaru, District Executive Committee member of BJP Yuva Morcha in Karnataka’s Dakshina Kannada district.

A Look Out Circular (LOC) and an open dated warrant of arrest had also been issued against the chargesheeted accused by the NIA Special Court in Bengaluru.

In addition, the NIA had announced a reward of Rs 4 lakh each for any information about their whereabouts.

A senior NIA official said that the probe agency is continuing with its efforts to track down the remaining absconders.

Nettaru, a BJP worker from the same communally sensitive region, was hacked to death on July 26, 2022, during the height of the ‘hijab’ row.

The incident occurred in Bellare near Sullia in the Dakshina Kannada district.

Nettaru’s murder had triggered revenge killings and a spate of stabbing incidents across the state.

Investigation revealed that the murder was a planned act by covert “killer squads” associated with the banned PFI.

The objective was to create communal terror, incite unrest, and target individuals belonging to specific groups.

–IANS

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