Praveen Nettaru murder case: NIA to seize properties of accused on failing to surrender

Dakshina Kannada, (Karnataka) June 29 The National Investigation Agency (NIA) announced that it will seize properties that belong to the two key accused in the Praveen Nettaru murder case in Karnataka if they failed to surrender before it by Friday.

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 evidences to an NIA court in Bengaluru and have sought consent for stringent action against the two accused persons.

On Wednesday, the court granted consent and released the order of confiscation of the properties of the two prime accused if did not surrender by Friday.

The order was given on Wednesday.

Since it took over the case from the Karnataka Police, the NIA has submitted a 1,500-page charge sheet against 20 accused to the court and have arrested 14 persons and launched a hunt for six others who are absconding.

The charge sheet includes statements of 240 witnesses.

Meanwhile, the Socialist Democratic Party of India (SDPI) had announced a ticket for Shafi Bellare, an accused in the murder case, to contest in recently held Assembly elections in Karnataka.

The development had raised a debate in the state.

He had contested from jail, but lost.

Praveen was hacked to death at the height of the hijab crisis in the state on July 26, 2022 in Bellare.

His murder led to revenge killings and a series of stabbing incidents.