Karnataka Police arrests two more in BJP Youth worker Pravin Nettaru murder

New Delhi, August 10

The Karnataka Police arrested two more people in connection with the murder of BJP youth worker Praveen Nettaru at Bellare in Karnataka’s Dakshin Kannada district.

The police arrested Abid Navoor (22) and Mohammed Noufal (28). With the arrest of these two, the number of arrests in the case rose to six although the main attackers remained elusive.

The police stated that the duo were allegedly present in Bellare on the day of the murder. Noufal left for Bengaluru, where he worked at a bakery, hours before the murder. 

The previously arrested accused- Mohammed Shafiq, Sheikh Saddam Hussain and N Abdul Haris are residents of Bellare while Zakir A lives in a nearby village. Shafiq and Zakir were found to have been involved in the activities of the Popular Front of India in the region.

All the six people arrested so far allegedly provided support to the murderers. 

The two arrested men were taken to the office of a local organisation to carry out a case documentation process as part of the investigation, officials said. 

The police stated that the Nettaru’s murder is suspected to be act of revenge killing following the July 20 murder of an 18-year-old youth from Kerala, Masood B, by a gang of Bellare men including several from Hindutva groups such as the Bajrang Dal.

After the state government decided to hand over the Nettaru murder case to the National Investigation Agency, the agency registered a first information report in New Delhi on August 4. 

BJP Youth Worker, Pravin Nettaru was hacked to death on July 26 when he was closing his poultry store for the day.