Mangaluru Police on Wednesday said that seven suspects had been taken into custody in connection with the murder of BJP youth leader Praveen Nettaru, with the remaining three primary suspects still at large.
National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the police in Mangaluru, according to Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Alok Kumar, would issue arrest warrants for three suspects who have fled.
“In the murder case of Praveen Nettaru, we have already detained seven suspects. Three further significant suspects have not yet been detained” Kumar added.
Police held a review meeting on Wednesday in Bellare with representatives from the several districts and the NIA.
In advance of the meeting, Kumar had added, “Any parties implicated, whether directly or indirectly, will face punishment. The NIA is also here. We (the NIA and the Karnataka police) will talk about the missing people. and would issue them with a warrant through the court system for the confiscation of their belongings and other things.”
He said that although someone has been harbouring the three major offenders, authorities are aware of their family, residence, and other facts.
Kumar said that they are gathering information to determine if PFI is connected to this case or not.
He added that “We’ll check to see if PFI is applicable in this situation. Without any supporting data, we cannot state definitively. We are gathering the proof. But someone may be connected to PFI. We are still gathering data about it. Only then can we properly state.”
The participation of the radical Popular Front of India (PFI) and its political wing, the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), is suspected, according to Karnataka Home Minister Araga Jnanendra in a statement regarding the event.
Earlier on July 19, in the late evening, unidentified individuals on a bike assaulted Praveen Nettaru, a young BJP activist, in Bellare, Dakshina Kannada, using deadly weapons.
