NIA Raids 18 Locations in Karnataka Over Suhas Shetty Murder
Sleuths Seize Digital Devices and Documents in Case Linked to Communal Revenge Killings.
- The NIA raided 18 locations in Karnataka in connection with the murder of Hindu activist Suhas Shetty, seizing digital devices and documents.
- The murder of Shetty, a Bajrang Dal activist, on May 1, is being probed for a larger conspiracy and a possible PFI link.
- Shetty was the prime accused in the 2022 murder of Mohammad Fazil, which was a retaliatory killing for BJP worker Praveen Nettaru’s death.
GG News Bureau
Mangaluru, 2nd Aug: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) conducted extensive raids at 18 locations across Mangaluru, Chikkamagaluru, and Hassan districts on Saturday in connection with the murder of Hindu activist Suhas Shetty. The raids led to the seizure of multiple digital devices, including 11 mobile phones, 13 SIM cards, and eight memory cards, along with other incriminating documents.
The NIA’s investigation, which took over the case from local police in June, is focusing on a potential conspiracy behind the killing. The agency’s press release stated that Shetty, a Bajrang Dal activist, was brutally murdered by accused Abdul Safwan and others using lethal weapons in the Bajpe area, with the intention of “spreading terror in society.”
Suhas Shetty was hacked to death on May 1 while traveling in his car. The shocking video of the killing had raised concerns and triggered a wave of revenge killings and communal tension in the coastal region.
The probe was handed over to the NIA following demands from BJP leaders and Union Ministers from the state, who alleged a foreign hand and the role of the banned Popular Front of India (PFI) outfit behind the murder. The Karnataka Police had previously arrested 12 individuals in connection with the case, and the NIA searched the residences of these arrested individuals and other suspects.
Suhas Shetty was also the prime accused in the murder of Mohammad Fazil, a resident of Suratkal, who was killed on July 28, 2022. That killing was allegedly in retaliation for the murder of BJP activist Praveen Kumar Nettaru, which occurred during the height of the ‘hijab’ row. Shetty had recently been released on bail in the Fazil murder case.
Weeks after Shetty’s death, a 42-year-old local mosque secretary, Imtiyaz, was also killed in broad daylight in Bantwal taluk in what was seen as another revenge killing.
