NIA arrests prime accused in Praveen Nettaru murder case

Bengaluru, March 06: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday arrested M H Tuffail, the prime accused in the murder of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Yuva Morcha leader Praveen Nettaru, from his hideout at Dasaralli under Amruthalli police station limits in Bengaluru, on Sunday.

 

 

According to officials, Tuffail was a member of killer squad formed by the Popular front of India (PFI), which has been banned by the government. He was part of the team which hacked Nettaru to death in Dakshina Kannada district on July 26 last year.

 

 

After the incident, six accused including Tuffail, were absconding, while the NIA managed to arrest 14 accused. The NIA had also announced a reward of ₹5 lakh to the informers who provide leads to arrest Tuffail, a native of Gadduge at Madikeri of Kodagu district.

 

 

 

 

Acting on a tip off of NIA officers on Saturday night, the agency raided the room of Tuffail on the second floor of a building at Dasarahalli. Two officials went to his room with a wrench and other equipments, posing as plumbers, officials in the know of the matter said. The accused tried to abscond after he came to know the identity of the sleuths, and soonthe other officials, who were waiting outside, managed to arrest him, they said.

 

 

“Our teams had been searching for the accused in Kerala, Mumbai, Tamil Nadu and other places to nab the accused for months. When it was difficult to get clues of the accused, the NIA announced a reward of ₹5 lakh for the informers of Tuffail,’’ an NIA officer on condition of anonymity said.

 

 

He said that the investigation is going on and the arrest of Tuffail may lead to the arrest of five other accused who are still at large.

 

 

The NIA, on January 20 last year,submitted a charge sheet against 20 accused in connection with the murder of Praveen Nettaru to the NIA special court in Bengaluru. In the charge sheet, the NIA informed that the PFI, as part of its agenda to create terror, communal hatred and unrest in the society and to establish Islamic Rule by 2047, formed secret teams called Service Teams or Killer Squads to carry out killings of its “perceived enemies” and targets.

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