The National Investigation Agency (NIA) conducted simultaneous searches at 18 locations across Mangaluru, Chikkamagaluru, and Hassan districts in Karnataka on Saturday, targeting the brutal murder of Bajrang Dal activist Suhas Shetty. The 30-year-old was hacked to death on May 1, 2025, in Bajpe, Mangaluru, by a group led by Abdul Safwan, allegedly to incite terror, according to an NIA statement. The agency seized 11 mobile phones, 13 SIM cards, eight memory cards, and incriminating documents from residences of 12 arrested individuals and other suspects.

Shetty, a known rowdy-sheeter and prime accused in the 2022 murder of Mohammad Fazil, was attacked with machetes and swords while traveling with associates. CCTV footage captured the gruesome assault, showing assailants intercepting his vehicle with a car and a pick-up truck. The NIA, which took over from Mangaluru police in June following BJP demands and Union Home Ministry orders, suspects a broader conspiracy, possibly linked to the banned Popular Front of India (PFI) and foreign funding.

The murder, part of a cycle of retaliatory killings in coastal Karnataka, followed the 2022 killing of BJP worker Praveen Nettaru and Fazil’s death. The NIA’s ongoing probe aims to uncover financial trails and dismantle alleged anti-national networks, with 12 arrests made, including Safwan and Adil Mehroof, Fazil’s brother.

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