MANGALURU: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested another absconding accused in the 2022 murder of BJP Yuva Morcha leader Praveen Nettaru, bringing the total number of arrests to 25.
Ummar Farooq, accused no. 13 in the case, was arrested in Kochi, Kerala, on Wednesday, where he was in hiding. He is accused of helping the main culprits abscond after the murder and was on the most wanted registry of the NIA. The agency had earlier announced a reward of Rs 2 lakh for any information about his whereabouts.
Last month, the NIA arrested two key accused, Abdul Nasir P alias Nasir and Naushad, from from Kochi and Hosur, Tamil Nadu, respectively, based on information from the Pradesh police.
Nettaru murder case: Total number of arrests now 25
One of the accused, Nasir, had given information about Farooq to the NIA, sources said. With Farooq in custody, the total number of arrests has gone up to 25, with two accused still on the run.The NIA had earlier chargesheeted Abdul Nasir and Naushad under various sections of the IPC and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for knowingly and voluntarily harbouring the main assailants who had murdered Nettaru.
A Look Out Circular and an open-dated Warrant of Arrest had also been issued against the chargesheeted accused by NIA Special Court, Bengaluru. NIA had announced a reward of Rs 4 lakh each for any details about their whereabouts.
Nettaru, a BJP Yuva Morcha district executive committee member, was hacked to death by two motorcycle-borne assailants in Bellare village by cadres of the Popular Front of India in July 2022. The NIA had taken over the investigation of the case from the Dakshina Kannada police on August 4, 2022.