MANGALURU: More than 15 people have been detained for interrogation in connection with the murder of BJP youth wing leader Praveen Nettar in Karnataka's Dakshina Kannada, police said on Thursday.
Addressing reporters in Sullia taluk of the district, ADGP (Law and Order) Alok Kumar, who visited Bellare area of the taluk where the incident happened and took stock of the situation, said a probe is underway from all angles.
As of now, it cannot be certain that those who have been taken into custody are involved in the murder or they had helped in executing the crime, he said.
Kumar said six teams have been formed with the help of the Mangaluru city police commissioner and Udupi police.
Police had to resort to mild lathi charge to bring the situation under control when emotions ran high and some people tried to topple the vehicle of BJP state president Nalin Kumar Kateel on Wednesday, he said.
Dakshina Kannada district Deputy Commissioner K V Rajendra, Superintendent of Police Rishikesh Bhagawan Sonawane and other officials were present.
Praveen Nettar (32), a Zilla BJP Yuva Morcha committee member, was hacked to death in front of his broiler shop in Bellare by three bike-borne miscreants on Tuesday night.
The killing led to tension at several places in Dakshina Kannada district on Wednesday with instances of stone-pelting and police lathi-charge being reported.
Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Shobha Karandlaje has written a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah requesting that the probe into the murder of Nettar be handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
Condemning the murder, Karandlaje, who represents Udupi-Chikkamagaluru parliamentary seat in the Lok Sabha, blamed Muslim fundamentalists and organisations like PFI, SDPI and similar groups for the murder, and continued radicalisation of Dakshina Kannada district.
Radical outfits trying to disrupt the harmony in the district are behind the murder, she said.
Pointing out that a motorbike bearing a Kerala registration number was used to attack Nettar, Karandlaje said a comprehensive probe is necessary to find out whether the assailants belonged to radical groups from Kerala.