PFI Absconder in Praveen Nettaru Murder Case Nabbed by NIA on Arrival from Qatar
New Delhi: In a major breakthrough in the Praveen Nettaru murder investigation, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested Abdul Rahaman, a key absconder linked to the banned Popular Front of India (PFI), upon his arrival from Qatar at Kannur International Airport.
Rahaman had been evading arrest for two years and was wanted in connection with the brutal murder of BJP Yuva Morcha leader Praveen Nettaru in Bellare village, Dakshina Kannada district, Karnataka, in July 2022.
The NIA had previously filed a chargesheet in April 2025 against four individuals, including Rahaman and two other absconders, bringing the total number of people chargesheeted in the case to 28. A reward of ₹4 lakh had been announced for information leading to Rahaman’s arrest.
According to the NIA’s findings, Rahaman provided shelter to the primary attackers and other accused on instructions from senior PFI leaders. He fled to Qatar shortly after the main assailants were apprehended.
Praveen Nettaru was killed with sharp weapons by PFI members on July 26, 2022, in what investigators described as a premeditated terror plot to create panic, incite communal violence, and destabilize public order.
The NIA had re-registered the case as RC-36/2022/NIA/DLI on August 4, 2022, and continues efforts to locate and apprehend the remaining absconders in the case.
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