The National Investigation Agency (NIA) announced that it will seize properties that belong to the two key accused in the BJP Yuva Morcha worker Praveen Nettaru’s murder in Karnataka if they failed to surrender before it by Friday, June 30.
The NIA has also offered cash rewards for information about the whereabouts of the absconding accused persons -- Umar Farooq and Mustafa Paichar, both residents of Kallu Mutlu in Dakshina Kannada district.
Although the NIA has launched an all-out operation in Karnataka and Kerala to nab them, the two have remained elusive since the brutal murder of the BJP Yuva Morcha activist on July 26, 2022.
NIA authorities have also posted notices on the houses of the accused persons with regard to the seizure of their properties. The probe agency had submitted evidence to an NIA court in Bengaluru and has sought consent for stringent action against the two accused persons. “A total of 21 persons, including the absconders, have so far been charge sheeted at by the NIA under various sections of the UA(P) Act, IPC, and the Arms Act,” read the statement issued by NIA.
Since taking over the case from the Karnataka Police, the NIA has submitted a 1,500-page charge sheet against 20 accused to the court, arrested 14 persons, and launched a hunt for six absconding others. The charge sheet includes statements from 240 witnesses.
Praveen was brutally killed on July 26 2022 by assailants riding bikes in Sullia taluk, Dakshina Kannada. This incident occurred shortly after the murder of an 18-year-old named Masood in the nearby village of Kalanja. The following day, on July 28, a man named Fazil was also hacked to death in Surathkal. This act was seen as a retaliatory response to Praveen's attack. According to the police, Fazil's murder had been planned in advance, with the perpetrators closely monitoring him before carrying out the killing.