The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has made revelations in a charge sheet filed on Friday before a special court in Bengaluru pertaining to the killing of BJP’s Yuva Morcha district committee member Praveen Nettaru on July 26 last year in Sullia Taluk’s Bellare village in Karnataka’s Dakshina Kannada district. He (Nettaru) was killed in full public view with lethal weapons to create terror among the people at large and especially among members of a particular community.
The effectively banned organisation Popular Front of India (PFI) formed secret teams called “Service Teams” or “Killer Squads” to execute killings of its “perceived enemies” and targets as part of its agenda to create terror, communal hatred, and unrest in society and to advance its agenda of establishing Islamic rule in India by 2047.
The National Investigation Agency in its charge sheet, which was filed against 20 PFI members, further mentions that “these ‘Service Team’ members were given arms as well attack training and surveillance techniques training in order to identify, list out and to mount surveillance on individuals and famous leaders belonging to certain communities and groups”.
NIA in its chargesheet also added that These ‘Service Team’ members were further trained to assault and kill identified targets on the instructions of senior PFI leaders. In chargesheet NIA also mentioned about the conspiracy meetings by PFI members and leaders held at Bengaluru city, Sullia Town and Bellare village. The head of district Service Team Mustafa Paichar was instructed to recce, identify and target a prominent member of a particular community, it added
“As per instructions given to these PFI members, four persons were recced and identified and among them, Praveen Nettaru, who was a BJP Yuva Morcha member, was assaulted and killed on July 26 last year in full public view with lethal weapons to create terror among the people at large and especially among members of a particular community,” stated charge-sheet.
Six of the 20 PFI members named in the charge sheet have eluded capture, and rewards have been declared for information that results in their case.
All these accused persons have been charge-sheeted under various sections of the Indian Penal Code 120B, 153A, 302 and 34, sections 16, 18 and 20 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, and Section 25(1)(a) of Arms Act.
Mahammed Shiyab, Abdul Basheer, Riyaz, Mustafa Paichar, Masud KA, Kodaje Mohammed Sherif, Abubakkar Siddik, Noufal M, Ismail Shafi K, K Mahammad Iqbal, Shaheed M, Mahammad Shafeek G, Ummar Farook M R, Abdul Kabeer CA, Muhammad Ibrahim Sha, Sainul Abid Y, Shekh Saddam Hussain, Zakiar A, N Abdul Haris, Thufail MH have been chargesheeted in the case.
Among the charge sheeted accused, Mustafa Paichar, Masud KA, Kodaje Mohammed Sherif, Abubakkar Siddik, Ummar Farook MR and Thufail MH are currently escaping and rewards have been declared for information leading to their arrest.
The case was re-registered by the NIA on August 4 of last year after being initially filed on July 27 by the Bellare Police Station in the Dakshina Kannada district.
The Home Ministry in September banned the PFI, its associates, and affiliates for a period of 5 years under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 by declaring it as an unlawful association.
These PFI members not accused in the murder of Nettaru’s there are also accused of involvement in several terrorist acts in the country and the murder of several high profile persons, including Sanjith (Kerala, November 2021), V Ramalingam (Tamil Nadu, 2019), Nandu (Kerala, 2021), Abhimanyu (Kerala, 2018), Bibin (Kerala, 2017), Sharath (Kamataka, 2017), R Rudresh (Kamataka, 2016), Praveen Puyari (Karnataka, 2016), and Sasi Kumar (Tamil Nadu, 2016).
