Two more persons were arrested by Dakshina Kannada police on Sunday, August 7, in connection with the murder of BJP Yuva Morcha (BJYM) member Praveen Kumar Nettaru in Karnataka's Bellare. The arrested persons have been identified as Abid (22), a resident of Navoor in Sullia, and Naufal (28), a resident of Bellare. The police had earlier arrested Shafeeq, Zakir, Saddam and Harris in connection with Praveen's murder. The police are also probing a suspected Kerala connection, as it was earlier reported that the attackers came on a Kerala registered motorcycle
On July 28, the police arrested 29-year-old Mohammed Zakir and 27-year-old Savanoor Shafiq for the murder of BJYM member. Rishikesh Bhagwan Sonawane, Superintendent of Police in Dakshina Kannada district, said that Zakir was previously booked in a criminal case in Bellare. On August 2, the police arrested 32-year-old Saddam, a resident of Bellare, and 42-year-old Harris, a resident of Pallajamajalu in connection with Praveen's murder.
Praveen was hacked to death on July 26 by bike-borne assailants in Bellare village in the Dakshina Kannada's Sullia taluk. The attack occurred just days after a man named Masood was attacked and killed by a gang of eight people in Kalanja village. Praveen's murder became a communal issue after Hindutva groups claimed he was targeted in retaliation for Masood's death.
The Ministry of Home Affairs had ordered National Investigation Agency (NIA) to investigate the murder of BJPYM member Praveen Nettaru in Dakshina Kannada's Bellare. Police officials said that the process of transferring the case is underway.
Masood, an 18-year-old from the Bellare village, was hacked to death by a group on July 19 for rearing a calf. A few days later, in the same taluk, two bike-borne assailants attacked BJP Yuva Morcha member Praveen Nettaru. The following day, on July 28, a man named Mohammed Fazil was killed in Surathkal. It is still being probed whether the three murders are linked. Six people in connection with Fazil’s murder were arrested on July 28.