The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has formally charge-sheeted 11 individuals arrested in connection with the Suhas Shetty murder case. The central agency filed the charge sheet on Wednesday, October 29, before the NIA Special Court in Bengaluru. The 11 accused were arrested under various sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and the Arms Act, 1959.
Shetty was hacked to death by seven people using swords and machetes near Kinnipadavu Cross in Mangaluru’s Bajpe area on May 1, 2025. The killing was carried out in full public view to instill fear and spread terror, the NIA said in a statement.
The NIA, which took over the case on the directives of the Ministry of Home Affairs, found a larger conspiracy behind the targeted killing. The agency reported that Shetty’s activities were meticulously tracked over several months as part of the elaborate conspiracy. On the day of the attack, seven accused, reportedly, in two cars, trailed their target's Toyota Innova. The accused caused a deliberate accident and blocked all escape routes for Shetty and his friends. Shetty was forced to flee on foot but was chased and hacked to death.
The NIA stated the terror plot was hatched by accused Abdul Safwan (alias Kalavaru Safwan alias Chopu Safwan), an ex-member of the banned Popular Front of India (PFI), along with Niyaz (alias Niya), Mohammed Musamir, Noushad (alias Vamanjoor Noushad alias Chotte Noushad alias Chotu, another ex-PFI member), and Adil Maharoof.
Accused Maharoof (alias Adil) provided the funds, which were used to recruit others either on the promise of payment or by exploiting any previous existing enmity with the victim.
All five mentioned above, along with Kalandar Shafi, M Nagaraja (alias Naga alias Appu), Ranjith, Mahammed Rizwan, Azaruddin, and Abdul Khader (alias Noufal), are named in the charge sheet. Investigation against another arrested accused, Abdul Razak, is currently underway, the NIA confirmed.
Shetty himself was accused of the murder of Mohammad Fazil, a resident of Mangalwarpete in Katipalla, in front of a shop in the Suratkal area of Mangaluru in 2022. He was also accused of the murder of Keerthi, a 20-year-old, at Devearagudda in Bajpe in 2020 and the stabbing of two other individuals.
In May, a Mangaluru police press release noted that Safwan had been assaulted in 2023 by Suhas Shetty’s associates—Prashath, Ganesh, Yajnesh, Dhanraj, and Puneeth. A case of grievous assault was subsequently registered at the Surathkal Police Station.
In retaliation, and after receiving threats from Shetty and his associates, Safwan conspired with others to murder Shetty. It was also established that Maharoof, the brother of the slain Fazil, provided financial support to carry out the murder.
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