Congress Corporator Niranjan Hiremath, whose twenty-four-year-old daughter was stabbed to death on a college campus in Hubbali on Thursday, said the incident happened as the victim turned down the accused's love proposal.
Niranjan Hiremath spoke to news agency ANI on Friday and said, "After my daughter was returning from college, an unknown person came and stabbed her 7 times and she died on the spot. The accused has already been arrested. The motive of the murder is that the victim rejected the accused's love proposal."
Meanwhile, the last rites of the victim were carried out by her parents in Hubballi on Friday.
"An FIR has been registered in this case and the accused was also secured within an hour. He has been sent to judicial custody. It is a very serious case and we are investigating. In the course of the investigation, everything will come to light," Hubballi-Dharwad Police Commissioner Renuka Sukumar told the agency.
The accused has been identified as Fayaz, a former friend and classmate of the victim, Neha Hiremath, who died after suffering multiple stab wounds. A video of the incident is being shared widely on social media and sparked public outrage. It also triggered a political slugfest in the state between the ruling Congress and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the crucial Lok Sabha election.
{{/usCountry}}The accused has been identified as Fayaz, a former friend and classmate of the victim, Neha Hiremath, who died after suffering multiple stab wounds. A video of the incident is being shared widely on social media and sparked public outrage. It also triggered a political slugfest in the state between the ruling Congress and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the crucial Lok Sabha election.
{{/usCountry}}ALSO READ | Neha Hiremath case: Protests in Hubballi demanding capital punishment for accused
Several leaders from the saffron party gave the case a communal angle and questioned the Siddaramaiah-led government on the law and order situation in the state, also urging a speedy investigation into the matter.
CM Siddaramaiah however denied the allegations and said, “Whatever murder happened is due to personal reasons. The law and order situation is very good in Karnataka, It is our duty to maintain law and order and we are doing it.”
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Karnataka's Home Minister G Parameshwara also refuted the charges of "love jihad" and the presence of a communal angle in the case.
"It appears there was mutual love between the two. However, when the girl started walking away, the boy stabbed her. I fail to see any evidence of "love jihad" here. It seems that he (the accused) believed she was going to marry someone else. I don't know all the details," he said, as quoted by the agency.
(With inputs from ANI)