The National Investigation Agency (NIA) probing the murder of BJP Yuva Morcha activist Praveen Kumar Nettaru has seized an office of the Popular Front of India (PFI) in Sullia town of Dakshina Kannada district, sources said on Monday.
According to sources, the PFI office in Sullia was used for carrying out terrorist activities. The office was located on the first floor of the Tahira complex on Aletti Road in Gandhinagar.
A copy of the seizure has been sent to the owner of the property, the District Commissioner, Superintendent of Police of Dakshina Kannada district. The order maintains that the property should not be leased or rented out. Directions have been given against shifting any property from the office or taking up renovation work.
Sources explained that the conspiracy to murder Praveen Kumar Nettaru was hatched in the office. Praveen was hacked to death by assailants in their third attempt.
The NIA sleuths had submitted a charge sheet against 20 persons with the Special NIA court in Bengaluru. The charge sheet contains 1,500 pages and statements from 240 witnesses.
NIA had earlier sealed the Mittur Freedom Community Hall in Idukki village near Bantwal town in connection with a murder case in February.
Praveen was hacked to death at the height of the hijab and halal crisis in the state on July 26, 2022. The incident had taken place in Bellare near Sullia in Dakshina Kannada district.
The Socialist Democratic Party of India (SDPI) had announced a ticket for Shafi Bellare, an accused in the Nettare murder to contest in the upcoming Assembly election in Karnataka. The development raised a debate in the state.
Shafi Bellare is presently lodged in a prison in connection with the murder. He was arrested by the NIA and is currently in its custody.
