Was Karnataka BJP Yuva Morcha worker Praveen Nettaru’s death a fallout or retaliation?

Could Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Yuva Morcha worker Praveen Nettaru’s death be the fallout of another clash between members of two communities that happened on 19 July? Was he targeted in retaliation for an attack on a local man called Masood in Mangaluru’s Sullia on that day? This is one of the angles that is being investigated by authorities, a senior police official from Mangaluru told News18 on Wednesday.

Karnataka’s home minister Araga Jnanendra while speaking to the media also hinted that the state police have widened their search to neighbouring Kerala for the assailants who murdered Praveen on Tuesday night.

According to the Dakshina Kannada Superintendent of Police, Rishikesh Sonawane, three men who allegedly attacked Praveen were seen astride a two-wheeler.

“The bike bore a Kerala registration number and the surrounding CCTV camera footage has been collected to further identify the assailants," he said.

News18 has learnt that a local Popular Front of India (PFI) leader Shafi Bellare is said to have issued an open threat to avenge the death of Masood who succumbed to his injuries on 21 July.

“He was very active and was at the forefront of managing programmes for the party. He was a dedicated RSS karyakarta and rose up the rungs of the BJP through his sheer hard work. He had friends in every community. The day he was killed, that afternoon he had visited the house of a Muslim friend and posted about it as well," a friend of Praveen said, seeking anonymity. “After Masood’s death, there were several threats going around about attacking Hindu leaders. We are sure Praveen was targeted for this very reason.”

Sachin Shenoy, Puttur Yuva Morcha city president, told News18 that Praveen had informed the police of a “possible threat".

“He told the police that he knew he was being followed. The local officers dismissed it and ridiculed him instead of providing police protection. They said he (Praveen) was not that big a leader to face a threat. Now we have lost a good soul and a loving human being. There is a limit to our patience as well," Shenoy said.

The killing of Praveen seemed to have brought to the fore the simmering anger among the local BJP youth workers who have now begun a statewide mass resignation campaign to protest against the government.

“The state government has failed to protect the lives of the BJP party workers," said Niraj Shenoy who recently enrolled in the BJP youth wing.

“How long will we be keeping quiet? There have been so many brutal attacks on BJP workers and now Praveen’s killing is another case in point. We need Yogi-style governance in Karnataka, not the kind that is being seen now where even the CM is helpless," said a BJP youth wing worker who had just sent in his resignation letter to the Mangaluru Yuva Morcha head.

Rakesh Rai, another senior office bearer of the BJP in Sullia, spoke of how Praveen turned out to be an “innocent target" when the police had received credible intelligence that there was a group of men from Kerala who could attack BJP workers in the region.

“The police did nothing and the state government wakes up only when the blood of our karyakarta flows?" Rai said.

While Hindutva groups decided to take out a procession of the body from Puttur to Bellare on Wednesday morning, the atmosphere quickly turned into a violent one with emotions running very high. The crowd turned uncontrollable and even tried to topple a car carrying BJP Karnataka president Nalin Kumar Kateel and minister V Sunil Kumar.

People gathered in large numbers and participated in the funeral procession, similar to the one that was taken out for slain Bajrang Dal worker Harsha in Shivamogga a few months ago.

“The anger expressed by our people was not against the BJP president or the minister but it was a way of showing how helpless we feel every time we are attacked like this,” said Santosh Rai, a BJP worker from Bellare.

“The barbaric killing of our party activist Praveen Nettaru from Dakshina Kannada district is condemnable. The perpetrators of such a heinous act will be arrested soon and punished under the law. May Praveen’s soul rest in peace. May God bless his family with the strength to bear this pain. Om Shanti," said Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai.

“This is not an isolated incident but part of a bigger conspiracy that involves jihadi elements," said CT Ravi, BJP national general secretary, to News18. “We will thoroughly investigate this with the help of the central investigating agencies and root out such elements from the state."

Praveen had in a Facebook post on June 29 written about “poor tailor" Kanhaiya Lal who was beheaded by two cleaver-wielding men in Rajasthan recently. He also wrote about the threats to Prime Minister Narendra Modi by the killers and questioned the role of the Congress, which is in power in Rajasthan.

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Rohini Swamy