A poster of Praveen Nettaru at Town Hall in Bengaluru.
Credit: PTI File Photo
Bengaluru: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) said on Tuesday that it had filed a charge sheet against four more accused in the 2022 murder of BJP Yuva Morcha member Praveen Nettar.
Three of the four accused are absconding, the agency said.
In the second supplementary charge sheet, the NIA has charged Abdul Nasir, Naushad, Abdul Rahaman and Ateeq Ahmed under relevant sections of the IPC and the UAPA, taking the total number of the accused in the case to 27, including six absconders.
"Three of the four charge-sheeted today are among the absconders. They have been identified as Abdul Nasir, Naushad and Abdul Rahaman,” the NIA stated.
According to the NIA, the three men had "provided shelter" to the three main assailants in Mysuru and Chamarajanagara districts of Karnataka as well as in Tamil Nadu's Erode district. Abdul Nasir and Abdul Rahaman also "harboured" accused Thufail in Bengaluru.
"After the fatal attack on Praveen Nettar, accused Ateeq and deceased Kalandar had conspired and harboured Mustafa Paichar in Chennai in 2022-23. Accused Abdul Rahaman had escaped to a foreign country and guided accused Riyaz in harbouring Mustafa Paichar subsequently in 2024," according to the NIA.
Nettar was killed with sharp weapons on July 26, 2022, at Bellare village in Sullia taluk of Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka.
Members of the now-banned Popular Front of India (PFI) are suspected to be involved in the murder.
The NIA took over the probe from the state police and is trying to track down the absconding accused.