Dakshina Kannada BJP leader’s murder: NIA intensifies intensify hunt for 5 more suspects 

News Network
March 6, 2023

Mangaluru: With the arrest of Thufail MH, a leader of now banned Popular Front of India, the number of arrests in the murder case of Dakshina Kannada BJP youth leader Praveen Nettaru has mounted to 15. 

The National Investigation Agency nabbed Thufail MH, former secretary of PFI's Kodagu district unit,  on Saturday night from Dasarahalli, near Amruthahalli, north Bengaluru.

Nettaru, a BJP Yuva Morcha member, was killed by PFI workers in July 2022 at Bellare village of Sullia taluk in Dakshina Kannada district.

According to NIA, Thufail had allegedly played a significant role in PFI's larger conspiracy to murder leaders of a particular community. He allegedly provided shelter and safe harbour at Koppa village in Mysuru district to three of Nettaru's assailants. He is the 15th accused to be arrested in the case.

Thufail has a history of cases against him. He was an accused in the murder of Prashanth Poojari reported in Kushalnagar in 2016 and an attempt to murder VHP leader Ganesh in Madikeri in 2012.

In a press note, NIA said after pursuing and developing leads, one of its teams caught Thufail from his hideout in Amaruthahalli and overpowered him. NIA sleuths arrested him late Saturday night.

NIA filed a chargesheet in the case against 20 accused with a NIA special court, Bengaluru, including six absconding accused, in January third week. Thufail is named as one of the absconding accused in the chargesheet.

Meanwhile, the NIA has intensified manhunt to arrest five more suspects who are at large: Mustafa Paichar, Masud KA, Kodaje Mohammed Sherif, Abubakkar Siddik, and Ummar Farook MR.

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News Network
November 22,2025

Mangaluru: Police Commissioner Sudheer Kumar Reddy C H has warned of strict action against individuals spreading rumours and attempting to create insecurity within the Muslim community and fuel hatred between Hindus and Muslims through social media.

Referring to a recent social media post alleging that police personnel had entered a masjid premises to check whether beef was being cooked, the commissioner said miscreants were attempting to push their communal agenda. 

“A group of people, both from Mangaluru and abroad, are trying hard to spread rumours. For the past 10 days, they have been attempting to rake up old issues, highlight routine matters as controversies, or fabricate news altogether,” he said.

He reiterated that any such attempts to disturb communal harmony would invite legal action. “Cases will be registered and the accused will be brought to book,” he stated.

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News Network
December 5,2025

Mangaluru: In a significant step to curb online hate and intimidation, Mangaluru City Police have registered a suo motu case against multiple Instagram accounts accused of circulating alleged provocative and threatening content.

While monitoring social media activity on Tuesday, Kankanady Town PSI Anitha Nikkam identified the Instagram handle ‘team_targetttt_900’ for posting a hate message alongside images of lethal weapons. Another account, ‘team_nagara_900’, allegedly shared a threatening post targeting activist Bharath Kumdelu, tagging additional pages such as KARAVALI-OFFICIAL.

Several other accounts — including ‘immu_bhai.fan’, ‘target_boy_900’, ‘kings_of_manglore’, ‘team_target_boys.900’, ‘arshad_mangalore’, ‘target_ka19_ullal’, ‘team_target__’, ‘troll_tigersz_900’, ‘tr_group_900’, and ‘team_target_900’ — are also under scrutiny for spreading similar inflammatory material, police said.

Authorities have urged citizens, especially young social media users, to report suspicious pages and avoid engaging with groups that glorify violence or threaten individuals. Online hate can quickly escalate into real-world harm, and police stress that sharing or promoting such content can attract legal consequences.

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News Network
December 3,2025

arrival.jpg

Mangaluru, Dec 3: A group of Congress workers gathered at the Mangaluru International Airport on Wednesday to welcome AICC general secretary K C Venugopal, but the reception quickly turned into a display of support for Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar.

Venugopal arrived in the city to participate in the centenary commemoration of the historic dialogue between Mahatma Gandhi and Narayana Guru. The event, organised by the Sivagiri Mutt, Varkala, in association with the Mangalore University Sri Narayana Guru Study Chair, is being held on the university’s Konaje campus.

KPCC general secretary Mithun Rai and several party workers had assembled at the airport to receive Venugopal. However, the moment he stepped out, workers began raising slogans backing Shivakumar.

The university programme will be inaugurated by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

This show of support comes just a day after Siddaramaiah remarked that Shivakumar would lead the government “when the high command decides.” The chief minister made the comment after a breakfast meeting at Shivakumar’s residence—another public display of camaraderie between the two leaders amid ongoing attempts by the party high command to downplay their leadership rivalry.

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