Uttara Kannada, Karnataka:

Attacking the Siddaramaiah government over the Hubballi murder incident, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that the whole nation is worried about the law and order situation in Karnataka, adding that the Congress party is desperate to destroy the state.

Addressing an election rally in Uttara Kannada, Prime Minister Modi said, “The entire nation is worried about what happened to one of the daughters in the state. They are worried about law and order situation in Karnataka. Parents are worried about their daughters residing in Karnataka. This is due to the sins committed by Congress. How can someone get the guts to murder someone on a college campus? They who committed crime know that those hungry for vote bank will save them in a few days.”

“The Congress government is busy destroying Karnataka. Instead of controlling crime, Congress is promoting an anti-social and anti-national mindset,” the Prime Minister said.

Neha (23), the daughter of Congress councillor of Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation, Niranjan Hiremath, was stabbed to death on the campus of BVB College on April 18.

The accused, Fayaz Khondunaik, who fled the scene after the stabbing attack, was subsequently arrested. Neha was a first-year MCA student and the assailant, Fayaz, was her former classmate.

The Prime Minister further slammed the Congress party for rejecting an invitation to the Ayodhya Ram Temple inauguration ceremony earlier in January this year.

“On one side there are those in hunger of vote bank rejected the invitation to the Ram temple and on the other side, there is an Ansari family, Iqbal Ansari whose entire family fought the case against Ram Temple for three generations but when the Supreme Court’s verdict came, he accepted it. The trustees of Ram Temple when invited the Ansari, he attended the ‘Pran Pratistha,” he said.

Polling was conducted on Friday in 14 parliamentary constituencies of Karnataka during the second phase of the Lok Sabha election. The remaining seats will go to the polls on May 7. The counting of votes will take place on June 4.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Hubballi, Karnataka:

Demanding maximum punishment for his son, the father of 23-year-old Fayaz, who allegedly killed the daughter of a Congress corporator inside a college campus in Hubballi, has apologised to the victim’s family and said his son should be given strict punishment.

Baba Saheb Subani, a school teacher and Fayaz’s father, told media on Saturday that he came to know about the incident around 6 pm on Thursday and was completely shocked and shattered with his son’s act.

“He (Fayaz) should be punished in a way that no one dares to do such a thing in future. With folded hands, I apologise to Neha’s family members. She was like my daughter,” he said with teary eyes.

Subani said that he and his wife have been living separately for the past six years and that Fayaz stayed with his mother and called him whenever he needed money. He last spoke to his son about three months ago.

Fayaz’s father recalled that around eight months ago, Neha Hiremath’s family had called him to inform that his son was troubling their daughter. Admitting that his son made a mistake, he said that Fayaz and Neha loved each other and were in a relationship.

“Fayaz told me he wanted to marry her but I refused it by folding my hands,” he added.

Condemning his son’s act, Fayaz’s father said that no one should commit any such atrocities against women. “I request the people of Karnataka to forgive me. My son has done wrong. He will be punished by the law of the land and I welcome it. My town has got a black mark because of my son. People of Munavalli (Fayaz’s hometown) please forgive me. You raised us. Please forgive me,” he cried with folded hands.

However, the victim’s family has been demanding that the accused be hanged to death and only then will their daughter’s soul rest in peace. They maintained that their daughter was not in a relationship with Fayaz and said the accused stabbed Neha because she rejected his proposal.

There were protests in several parts of the state demanding capital punishment for Fayaz, who has been arrested in connection with the incident that occurred on April 18.

The alleged murder of the daughter of the city corporation councillor on her college campus has sparked widespread condemnation and protests.

The issue has snowballed into a political slugfest between the ruling Congress and opposition BJP in Karnataka. While the ruling party has tried to project it as an “incident with a personal angle”, the saffron party suspects “love jihad” and said that it points to the “deterioration of law and order” in the state.

Neha was allegedly stabbed to death on the campus of BVB College on Thursday.

The accused Fayaz Khondunaik, who fled the scene, was arrested by police subsequently.

Neha was a first-year MCA student and Fayaz was her former classmate.

According to a senior police officer, Fayaz allegedly stabbed her multiple times. During interrogation, he claimed that the two had been in a relationship but she had been avoiding him of late.

“It needs to be corroborated and verified, but he was arrested immediately,” the officer said. PTI AMP SDP

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)