Bengaluru:

Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday criticised Congress-led Karnataka government over the handling of Neha Hiremath’s murder case, stressing that the matter must be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Amit Shah said this while addressing a massive public rally to garner support for the BJP candidate from Chikkodi Lok Sabha seat, Anna Saheb Jolle.

Neha Hiremath, an MCA student and Congress leader’s daughter, was murdered by a Muslim youth with whom she was in a ‘relationship’.

Referring to the Neha Hiremath murder case, Amit Shah said “they (Karnataka government) are claiming it to be a personal matter”.

“What personal matter? A girl who did not want to get converted to another religion was finished off. I met Neha’s mother two days ago in Hubballi. She explained her daughter was pressurised to get converted to another religion. I warn the Congress government, if you are not capable of probing the matter efficiently, hand it over to the CBI,” Amit Shah said.

He further said that those who did injustice to Neha Hiremath would be hanged upside down to teach them a lesson, and the BJP will give justice to Neha.

The Congress has fielded Priyanka Jarkiholi, daughter of Minister for PWD Satish Jarkiholi from Chikkodi against BJP’s Anna Saheb Jolle.

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

Hubballi (Karnataka):

BJP national president J P Nadda on Sunday demanded a CBI probe into the murder of 23-year-old college student Neha Hiremath here recently.

Neha, daughter of Congress corporator Niranjan Hiremath, was stabbed to death by her former classmate in the premises of her college in Dharwad on April 18 sparking widespread protests.

Mr Nadda visited Neha Hiremath’s house and offered condolences to her family. Later, he said the BJP will cooperate if the investigation of the case needs to be handed over to CBI so that the victim gets justice.

ಕಾಂಗ್ರೆಸ್ ಸರ್ಕಾರದ ಓಲೈಕೆಯ ರಾಜಕಾರಣಕ್ಕೆ ಬಲಿಯಾದ ಹುಬ್ಬಳ್ಳಿಯ ವಿದ್ಯಾರ್ಥಿನಿ ನೇಹಾ ಹಿರೇಮಠ್ ಅವರ ಮನೆಗೆ ಬಿಜೆಪಿ ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯ ಅಧ್ಯಕ್ಷರಾದ ಶ್ರೀ @JPNadda ಅವರು ಭೇಟಿ ನೀಡಿ ಕುಟುಂಬಸ್ಥರಿಗೆ ಧೈರ್ಯ ತುಂಬಿ, ಸಾಂತ್ವನ ಹೇಳಿದರು.

ಈ ಸಂದರ್ಭದಲ್ಲಿ ಲೋಕಸಭಾ ಚುನಾವಣಾ ರಾಜ್ಯ ಉಸ್ತುವಾರಿಗಳಾದ @AgrawalRMD, ಕೇಂದ್ರ ಸಚಿವರಾದ ಶ್ರೀ… pic.twitter.com/6y5zqMx03i

— BJP Karnataka (@BJP4Karnataka) April 21, 2024

Addressing reporters, Mr Nadda said, “I offered condolences to the family and came here to stand with them in this hour of grief.” “From what I have heard from her (Neha’s) father and the way her mother narrated the incident, it is such a heartbreaking incident…,” he added.

Condemning the incident, the BJP chief assured justice to the family of the victim.

Taking exception to the statements made by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Home Minister G Parameshwara, he said it would “influence and “dilute” the probe.

If the state police was unable to handle the investigation of the case, Nadda said he would request the state government to handover the case to CBI.

“If the state government wants, they can refer the case to CBI and BJP will cooperate so that this innocent girl gets justice, humanity gets justice and such incidents do not recur in future… even her father has demanded for a CBI probe because he doesn’t have faith in the state police and wants the investigation into the murder of his daughter to be transferred to the CBI,” Mr Nadda said.

The incident 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.

(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.)