The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday has made another arrest in the BJP leader Praveen Nettaru murder case which took place in Karnataka in July 2022.
According to a statement issued by the NIA, the accused Riyaz Yousaf Haaralli alias Riyaz has been arrested from Mumbai airport while he was trying to sneak abroad.
"The NIA on Tuesday swooped down on an absconder in the Praveen Nettaru murder case and arrested him from Mumbai airport while he was trying to flee abroad," the statement said. Riyaz's arrest marks the 19th accused to have been taken into the custody in the case.
His arrest comes less than a month of the arrest of absconder Mustafa Paichar and Mansoor Pasha last month. Riyaz, along with Mansoor Pasha, had provided logistical support and a safe hideout to Mustafa Paichar in Sakleshpur, Hassan.
Nettaru assassination
It must be noted that Nettaru, who was a BJP Yuva Morcha district executive committee member, was brutally hacked to death by two assailants, riding on a motorcycle in Bellare village of Dakshina Kannada district in Karnataka allegedly by cadres of the banned Popular Front of India (PFI).
"Paichar, the secretary of PFI Puttur district and the head of the Puttur district service team, was the chief conspirator in the case," it added. NIA said that he assembled the hit team and absconded with others after the killing adding that "he was finally traced and arrested by NIA from Sakleshpur on 10th May 2024 along with Mansoor Pasha".
NIA investigation showed that the attack was orchestrated to strike terror among a section of people in the society. According to the NIA investigations,Along with, Riyaz, Hassan District, Karnataka, the statement said.
Notably, the NIA took over the investigation on August 4, 2022 and has so far filed a charge-sheet against 21 accused. The agency is continuing with its manhunt to track the other absconders, the statement said.
(With PTI Inputs)
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