The National Investigation Agency (NIA) will probe the murder of Hindu activist Suhas Shetty by a group of assailants in Mangaluru, Karnataka, last month, official sources said on Sunday.

The Union Home Ministry has asked the federal anti-terror agency to probe the case related to the "targeted killing" of Shetty "with the intention to create terror in the minds of people", they said.

Citing a home ministry communique in this regard, the sources said the accused involved in the murder case are allegedly members of the Popular Front of India (PFI), a banned outfit.