The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which took over the investigation into the murder of Bajrang Dal leader Suhas Shetty in June 2025, has uncovered links between the accused and the banned radical Islamist outfit Popular Front of India (PFI), officials said.
Shetty was killed on 1 May 2025 near Kinnipadavu Cross under Bajpe police station limits in Mangaluru. He was travelling with five associates when two vehicles intercepted them, and a group of men fatally attacked him with sharp weapons. The incident, captured on CCTV, led to the arrest of 12 individuals by Mangaluru City Police.
The Ministry of Home Affairs transferred the case to the NIA following demands by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the victim’s family, who alleged that the Congress-led Karnataka government was mishandling the investigation. Suhas Shetty’s mother, Sulochana Shetty, had also demanded a central agency probe.
After taking charge in June 2025, the NIA began a detailed investigation and soon found that several of the arrested men had direct links to the PFI. Officials said financial records revealed that the accused received funding from both domestic and overseas sources, and bank account transactions are now being closely examined.
According to preliminary findings, the murder had been planned three months in advance. In January 2025, accused Adil Mehroof allegedly gave ₹3 lakh to Abdul Safwan’s group to carry out the attack. Safwan is said to have tracked Shetty’s movements for over two weeks and conducted surveillance of his routine locations. A backup plan was also reportedly prepared in case the original attempt failed.
Information about Shetty’s location and companions on the day of the murder was allegedly shared by accused Azhar Kalavar. The assailants used two vehicles, a Swift car and a pickup truck, to execute the plan.
Suhas Shetty, who had five criminal cases against him, including murder and robbery, was the main accused in the July 2022 killing of Mohammed Fazil, a 23-year-old MBA graduate from Surathkal. Fazil’s murder was allegedly carried out as a retaliatory act for the earlier killing of BJP youth leader Praveen Nettaru.
The NIA is also probing whether funds used in Shetty’s killing came from the ₹25 lakh compensation awarded to Adil Mehroof’s family by the Karnataka government after Fazil’s death.
The 12 arrested in the case include Adil Mehroof, Abdul Safwan, Niyaz, Mohammed Mussammir, Kalandar Shafi, Mohammed Rizwan, M. Nagaraj, Ranjith, Azhar Kalavar, Naushad, Abdul Khader, and Abdul Razak. The first arrests were made on 3 May 2025, with further arrests on 15 May 2025 and 3 June 2025.
(With inputs from OpIndia)
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