Hours after the arrest of two accused named Mohammed Shafiq Ballere and Zaqir Savanuru, in connection with the murder of BJP Yuva Morcha member Praveen Kumar Nettaru in Karnataka, reports have emerged that Shafiq and Zakir are linked to the Islamist terrorist organisation PFI and SDPI.
According to reports, the wife of Shafiq has confirmed that her husband was an active member of the PFI and that he used to participate in all the ‘social’ activities. She also said that on the day of the incident, he was not at home hinting that he might be involved in executing the murder of the BJP youth member. “My husband was a PFI member. He was aware that the murder took place,” Shafiq’s wife told India Today.
#BREAKING | Karnataka Murder: Accused’s wife says ‘he was part of PFI’.
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Shafiq is also associated with SDPI (Social Democratic Party of India) and has organized various ‘social’ events. The wife after the arrest while talking to the media also said that initially her husband was not aware of the murder. Later he had tears in his eyes when he came to know about who was murdered in the village. Meanwhile, a video report by News18 also shows Safiq’s picture at an SDPI event.
#BreakingNews | Karnataka Hate Killing: Murder accused linked to SDPI? @ritsrajpurohit brings #EXCLUSIVE ground report. @harishupadhya shares more details from Bengaluru.
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ADGP (law and order) Dakshina Kannada, and Alok Kumar who also interacted with the media confirmed that Zakir who has a criminal case in Bellare has been suspected of having PFI links. The Police who arrested the duo said that they have undertaken the investigation into the murder case as there is a lot to verify in the case.
Zakir is 29 years old and is a resident of Savanoor whereas Mohammed Shafiq who is 27 years old belongs to Bellare. According to reports, Shafiq and Zakhir are the conspirators, but the assailants are still to be apprehended. The Police have detained a total of 21 persons in connection to the murder of BJP Yuva Morcha member Praveen Kumar Nettaru. “We have been investigating all suspected persons legally using the powers investigation officers have. Dakshin Kanada SP and Mangaluru City Police are also working on the case”, ADG Alok Kumar said.
Accused and his father works in victim’s shop
Another important fact in the matter is that father of accused Shafiq Ballere and his father worked in the poultry shop of Praveen Kumar Nettaru. This was revealed by Shafiq’s father Ibrahim himself while talking to the media. Ibrahim told India Today, “I work at Praveen’s shop. My son and Praveen used to talk there.”
Ibrahim denied his son’s involvement in the crime, and alleged that they are targeted because they are Muslim. ” We have no idea why my son has been arrested. Just because we are Muslims, we are being targeted. Both Shafiq and Zakir aren’t like that,” he said. He also informed that Praveen used to go to their house.
On July 26, Nettaru was hacked to death by unidentified assailants. As per reports, the killers came on a bike in Bellari, Dakshina Kannada of Karnataka, in the late evening and attacked Nettaru with sharp weapons. Praveen Nettaru, who looked after a poultry business, was returning home when the attack happened. The assailants escaped after the attack. Praveen was rushed to the hospital, but he could not be saved.
Massive protests erupted after Praveen’s death in the city of Bellare and Sullia. While the outraged BJP Yuva Morcha members started to furnish mass resignations, the members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad called for a bandh concerning the safety of Hindus in the state of Karnataka.
The Police have arrested two accused named Zakir and Mohammed Shafiq in connection with the murder. According to the reports, Shafiq and Zakhir are the conspirators, but the assailants are yet to be apprehended. Investigations in the case are still underway.
