MANGALURU: Nearly two weeks after BJP Yuva Morcha activist Praveen Nettaru was brutally murdered near his poultry shop in Bellare on July 27, the Dakshina Kannada police have arrested the three main killers from Talapadi checkpost on the Karnataka-Kerala border on Thursday.
The arrested are Siyabuddin (33) of Sullia, Riyaz Ankatadka (27) of Ankatadka in Puttur taluk, and Basheer (29) of Yelemale in Sullia taluk.
Praveen Nettaru was attacked with lethal weapons when he was closing his shop for the day and was preparing to return home.
Additional Director General of Police (law and order) Alok Kumar said at a press conference that the three have been taken into police custody for further questioning and to establish the motive for the killing.
“We will question them about where they had been hiding all these days and who gave them shelter or helped them with funds. After gathering all details about the three killers, we will hand over the case to the National Investigation Agency (NIA)”, he said.
Alok Kumar also said that they all along suspected the links of the arrested with radical outfits and now they have some evidence of their links. “Basheer’s father Ibrahim used to work at Praveen’s poultry shop for some time, so there is a possibility that Praveen’s movements were easily tracked. The accused used five-two-wheelers and a four-wheeler”, he added.
So far, 10 people have been arrested in the case. They include Zakir of Savanur, Shafiq of Bellare, Saddam from Pallimogaru, Haris from Pallimajalu, Habid from Navoor, Naufal from Gorihole, Abdul Kabir from Jattipalla, Siyabuddin of Sullia, Riyaz Ankatadka of Ankatadka in Puttur taluk, and Basheer (29) of Yelimale in Sullia taluk.
After the murder, the three main accused headed to the Malikuddin mosque in Kasargod. When the police conducted raids, they escaped with help from locals. The properties of the accused will be siezed and there is no question of fixing innocent people in the crime, he noted.