Mangaluru: The Union Ministry of Home Affairs has officially handed over the investigation into the murder of hindutva activist Suhas Shetty to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), citing the seriousness of the offense and its potential links to a larger conspiracy involving radical elements.In an official order dated June 7, the Ministry stated that the FIR by the Bajpe Police in Mangaluru City involves several serious charges under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, and the Arms Act, 1959. The move comes over a month after Dakshina Kannada MP Captain Brijesh Chowta wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, requesting that the case be handed over to the central agency. In his letter, Chowta described the murder that took place on May 1 in Bajpe as a “cold-blooded murder carried out with impunity in public view” that has deeply shaken the coastal Karnataka region.The case pertains to a serious attack on Suhas Shetty while he was traveling in a car along with a few others, by one Safwan with eight other persons the attack resulted in critical injuries to Suhas Shetty and others and Suhas Shetty subsequently succumbed to death in hospital. “In this case, sections 10 r/w 41, 13, 15, 17, 18 & 20 of UA(P) Act, 1967 are attracted, as it is related to the targeted killing of an individual in public view with the intention to create terror in the minds of people and the accused persons involved in the case are allegedly members of Popular Front of India (PFI), an unlawful association,” the order said.“In view of the above, the Central Government is of the opinion that a Scheduled Offence under the National Investigation Agency Act, 2008, has been committed in the instant case and having regard to the gravity of the offence, its national ramifications as well as the need to unearth the larger conspiracy, it is required to be investigated by the National Investigation Agency in accordance with the National Investigation Agency Act, 2008,” it added.The Central Government has directed the NIA to formally take over the investigation, under Section 6(5) read with Section 8 of the NIA Act.In his letter, Chowta had pointed to a pattern of “growing Islamic radicalism” in the region, drawing parallels with the 2022 murder of BJP worker Praveen Nettaru, which was also linked to PFI activists. “The nation cannot afford to allow radical, anti-national, and jihadi forces to fester in any part of the country,” the MP wrote, calling for a comprehensive investigation to dismantle such networks.
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